You or your child or teen has motor or vocal tics or both. You or your child feel bothered by the tics and just wish they would go away for good. Emotions that show up around tics may be anxiety, anger, embarrassment, sadness and/or shame. Maybe you or your child has experienced being laughed at, asked to “stop” or “knock it off”, even bullied, questioned, then there are the looks or stares from others - it can all be super heartbreaking. At times, it might bring you and/or your child to tears. You may have noticed that when anxiety increases or attention is brought to the tics, then the tics often increase in intensity and frequency. Tics may be getting in the way of life, like challenges with focusing or attending school, completing homework, friendships, family relationships, working in the workplace, being out in the community or the tics may create physical pain. Perhaps you or your child tried medication and dealt with undesirable side effects, maybe they have not worked well enough, or you want to leave that as a last resort. If you are a parent with a child with tics, you feel sad and wish you could just do something so you don’t have to watch your child suffer anymore.

There’s help with a medication free treatment!

I treat tics and Tourettes with the evidence-based treatment called Comprehensive Behavioral Treatment for Tics, also known as CBIT for short. It’s a short-term treatment model which can be delivered online or in-person to help tics be less noticeable. The research on CBIT shows that it can reduce and prevent tics. At the first session, I complete a thorough evaluation to gain a comprehensive understanding of history, the whole person, current tic symptoms and any co-morbid conditions, such as anxiety, OCD etc. Then I complete several assessments specific for tic disorders, including a functional assessment, all of which inform various treatment interventions. Next, I teach Habit Reversal Training (HRT) in a fun way which includes 1) a series of interventions to develop awareness training to “catch” the tic and the premonitory urge 2) create and practice using a competing response for the target tics (a muscle movement that is not compatible with doing the target tic at the same time) and 3) help clients use social support systems to support their work outside of sessions. Additionally, I use other auxiliary interventions to help tics, for example to help better manage anxiety and stress, which often impact tic exasperation.

If you are ready to seek help for yourself or your child or teen’s tics, please click below to schedule your free 15 minute phone consultation for in-person CBIT treatment in Long Beach or online throughout the state of California. Looking forward to connecting!