Our Services
Adolescents (14-17), Adults, & Seniors 65+
Initial Evaluation (1-2hrs): Clients meet with a clinician for a 1 to 2-hour appointment. The first part of the evaluation consists of clients privately completing assessment questionnaires to learn more about their specific concerns. The second part is a face-to-face meeting (in-person or via telehealth) with a clinician to gather information about a client’s biopsychosocial history, provide an initial treatment plan, and answer any consumer-related questions about the therapy process.
Individual Psychotherapy (45/50/60min): A standard, weekly therapy appointment, in which the length is determined by a client’s concerns and needs.
Individual Psychotherapy (25min): A shorter, check-in or “booster” appointment for clients who do not require longer, weekly sessions.
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
Psychological assessment refers to the objective measurement of a person’s psychological functioning by gathering information about a person’s behavior, character, strengths, and needs for diagnosing, setting goals, and recommending treatment. Psychological assessment can be used to evaluate whether a person meets the criteria for an emotional, personality, behavioral, or cognitive disorder (e.g., ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, etc.) or membership in a particular group (e.g., giftedness). The type of assessment varies depending on why a person is seeking a psychological evaluation.
We provide comprehensive individualized psychological assessments tailored to the individual’s needs. This includes the most widely-used standardized measures that assess various areas, including cognition, auditory processing, visual processing, motor integration, executive functioning, achievement, behaviors, social-emotional functioning, and more. Our goal in an assessment is to evaluate current functioning and provide detailed descriptions of strengths and weaknesses, all leading to recommendations for services and treatment. Our assessment clinicians assess how all areas of an individual’s life may affect their functioning and success.
Cognitive Behavior Health Partners offers four different types of assessments:
Psychodiagnostic Assessment is designed to determine if a specific diagnosis is present (e.g., Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) in children or adults. It can also be used to rule out or differentiate diagnoses. We provide individualized comprehensive psychological assessments tailored to the needs of each individual. We use widely used standardized measures that assess a range of presenting concerns.
Brief ADHD Assessment determines if a child or adult meets the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder criteria. This is a more straightforward process than a full psychodiagnostic assessment.
Psychoeducational Assessment measures a child’s intellectual functioning and current academic performance. This type of assessment may be requested to determine if a learning disorder may be present and includes suggestions for accommodations if a learning disability is present.
Giftedness Assessment consists of a standard intelligence test that measures a child’s analytical intelligence level, including verbal and non-verbal intelligence. This type of assessment may be sought when planning for a child’s academic placement, as a screener for potential academic problems, to qualify for advanced classes in school, or to include the results as part of an application for admittance to exclusive educational opportunities.
Testing involves 2-8 hours of face-to-face assessment, depending on the type of assessment, including a clinical interview, administration of the test battery, scoring, and reporting results into a detailed, narrative report. With consent, collateral information may also be gathered from a person’s close contacts. Feedback on the results is conducted in a separate session.
Specialized Treatment Program: CBT for Panic Disorder
Courtesy of the Psychiatric Times: “Treatment components of CBT include education, breathing retraining, cognitive restructuring, interoceptive exposure, and in vivo (i.e., real world) exposure.
Education helps establish treatment alliance and teach key concepts, including the course of panic disorder, the nature of panic attacks, behaviors that maintain the panic cycle, the cognitive model, and the treatment rationale.
Breathing retraining was initially thought to reduce physical symptoms of panic, but it was later conceptualized as a way to demonstrate how hyperventilation can exacerbate physical symptoms.
The goal of cognitive restructuring is to identify and challenge anxious thoughts regarding a panic attack.
In interoceptive exposure, patients perform various exercises (e.g., hyperventilation, spinning in a chair) in a controlled setting in order to repeatedly confront anxiety-provoking physical symptoms. With exposure, patients learn that symptoms are not as dangerous as originally perceived.
In vivo exposure traditionally has been used in the treatment of agoraphobia (i.e., avoidance behavior). During in vivo exposure, patients confront the actual phobic situation, such as traveling alone or being in an airplane or elevator.
These treatment components are based on two CBT approaches to panic disorder: panic control treatment (PCT) developed by Barlow and colleagues, which introduced interoceptive exposure as a key element; and the cognitive therapy (CT) program developed by Clark, which emphasized cognitive restructuring.”
Specialized Treatment Program: CBT for insomnia
Courtesy of the Mayo Clinic: “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia is a structured program that helps you identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that cause or worsen sleep problems with habits that promote sound sleep. Unlike sleeping pills, CBT-I helps you overcome the underlying causes of your sleep problems. To identify how to best treat your insomnia, your sleep therapist may have you keep a detailed sleep diary for one to two weeks. The cognitive part of CBT-I teaches you to recognize and change beliefs that affect your ability to sleep. This type of therapy can help you control or eliminate negative thoughts and worries that keep you awake. The behavioral part of CBT-I helps you develop good sleep habits and avoid behaviors that keep you from sleeping well.” Specific CBT-I techniques include the following:
Sleep Control: Removing factors that condition the mind to resist sleep.
Sleep Restriction: Reducing the time spent in bed to increase the mind-body willingness to sleep the following night. Once sleep has improved, the time in bed is gradually increased.
Sleep Hygiene: Changing basic lifestyle habits that influence sleep, such as smoking or drinking too much caffeine late in the day, drinking too much alcohol, or not getting regular exercise.
Relaxation Training: Calming the mind and body using meditation, imagery, and muscle relaxation.
Specialized Treatment Program: CBT for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Since Dr. Mystkowski’s launch of the “Going Well” program over a decade ago, numerous individuals benefited from the application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques to the treatment of IBS. Within 10-16 weekly sessions, clients noticed they are less focused on their gut sensations (e.g., abdominal pain, urgency, fullness, bloating, etc.) and that variations in bowel movement form or habits (i.e., episodes of diarrhea, constipation, or both), were not necessarily a cause for alarm. Eventually, many clients were able to consume previously “forbidden” foods (e.g., spicy, hot, greasy foods, or items containing dairy or caffeine), travel distances far from “safe” bathrooms, confront destinations that are “unpredictable,” and engage in activities once feared to exacerbate IBS symptoms (e.g., exercise, physical intimacy).
Dr. Mystkowski adapted the “Going Well” program for clients with Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD: Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and Celiac Disease), in careful consultation with medical providers trained in helping individuals with those specific conditions.
Specialized Treatment Program: CBT for Bipolar Disorder
In sum, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Bipolar Disorder consists of several key ingredients, which exist in addition to compliance to a medication regimen supervised by a physician. First, clients learn how to identify unhealthy, negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy, positive ones. Clients also learn how to identify what triggers bipolar episodes, and effective strategies to manage stress and to cope with upsetting situations.
Second, Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) has clients stabilize daily rhythms, such as sleeping, waking and mealtimes. A consistent routine allows for better mood management. Clients with bipolar disorder benefit from establishing a daily routine for sleep, diet and exercise.
Thirdly, clients are provided with psychoeducation about bipolar disorder, which can help them and their loved ones understand the condition. Being fully informed about one's condition can help a client to get the best support, identify issues, make a plan to prevent relapse and stick with treatment.
Lastly, family support and healthy communication can help clients stick with their treatment plan and help them and their loved ones recognize and manage warning signs of mood swings.
specialized treatment program: integrative behavioral couple therapy (ibct)
Courtesy of PsychCentral: “IBCT assumes that relationship problems result not just from the egregious actions and inactions of partners but also in their emotional reactivity to those behaviors. Therefore, IBCT focuses on the emotional context between partners and strives to achieve greater acceptance and intimacy between partners as well as make deliberate changes in target problems.
When acceptance comes first, it paves the way for change. When you and your partner experience greater acceptance from each other, your resistance to change often dissolves. You may be more open to adapting to each other and accommodating in ways that reduce conflict. You may be able to communicate more clearly and negotiate and problem-solve more effectively since you are no longer adversaries.
IBCT was developed, in part, to address concerns about long-term maintenance of gains (Jacobson & Christensen, 1998) through a focus on emotional acceptance and an emphasis on natural contingencies. For example, rather than teaching couples the ‘right way’ to communicate and reinforcing that communication, as in Traditional Behavioral Couples Therapy (TBCT), IBCT therapists process partners’ reactions to each other’s communication, letting those responses (natural contingencies) shape each other’s behavior.”
women’s Wellness Program
Physical and mental health is important for everyone. Yet, we often forget about differences in gender when it comes to managing health concerns. Men and women have very different responses to life's stressors. Their bodies and minds react in unique ways. For women, the response can often be even more complex.
In our modern world, women take on multiple roles. They have more career opportunities. Women can choose to be mothers, CEOs, caretakers, doctors, and more. In many U.S. homes, they are the main source of income. This means, however, women take on bigger mental and emotional loads. Often the primary caregivers in a home, women raise our children and are caretakers of the older generations. Household tasks often fall to women, even when they are the breadwinners. Learning to manage the various stressors that accompany these multiple roles can be very difficult. As a result, we should look at a woman's health through a lens that recognizes her varying concerns.
The reality is women experience physical and mental challenges that men do not. This includes navigating fertility and pregnancy. Possibly coping with infertility or the devastation of pregnancy loss can be a concern. Issues such as pain management, chronic illness, trauma, and financial issues are also are interpreted and managed differently by women.
Additionally, women undergo shifts in their hormones during the start of menstruation, perimenopause and menopause. As women age, hormone levels can become unbalanced. The results are challenging to devastating. Some symptoms include fatigue, infertility, bloating, irritability, and hair loss. Other issues can involve mood swings, drops in blood sugar, problems with concentrating, and more.
During these mental, emotional and physiological transitions, it is important to identify the signs and symptoms that signal the need for additional support. These include:
Physical: headaches, insomnia, fatigue, sexual challenges, appetite changes, addiction
Emotional: anxiety, anger, unhappiness, irritability, despair, frustration, guilt
Mental: excessive worry, negative thinking, procrastination, indecisiveness, emptiness
Occupational: unemployment, workplace conflict, feeling unfulfilled, working too much
Social: isolation, friendship and marital problems, marital issues, loneliness
Ultimately, women do not need to go through life's challenges alone. It is already hard enough to balance so many roles. Not to mention, our culture has many systems in place that make it harder for women. We see these in everything from workplace inequality to politics.
This is why we here at CBH Partners are committed to helping women. With the right support, women can achieve a higher level of wellness. CBT can reduce anxiety, depression, and the other issues noted above. When those are managed, women can tackle life's hardships with a fresh perspective and begin to experience necessary shifts. Marriages improve. Friendships become stronger. Careers advance faster. Income increases. Physical health improves. All of these are potential benefits of wellness and healthy living can be fostered by CBT.
Click here to download the “Women’s Wellness Program” info sheet
Sexual & Gender Minority (SGM) Affirming CBT Psychotherapy
Our clinicians have specialized training to provide SGM clients with Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ACBT). ACBT is an individualized, active and goal-oriented type of psychotherapy, with evidence-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy interventions targeting SGM-specific stress and concerns. Topics addressed in Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy include the following:
Stress management (e.g., coping skills, substance abuse and recovery)
Gender identity (e.g., evaluations for medical transition and supporting documentation, non-binary)
Coming-out (e.g., concerns about one’s family, religion, culture, and workplace)
Sexual health (e.g., safer sex, STIs, sex positivity)
Our clinicians also train other health professionals in creating SGM-affirmative environments as well as case consultation.
Biofeedback COMBINED WITH COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES
Biofeedback is a type of technology designed to help you gain greater control over your physiological responses to stress. During
biofeedback training, you receive information or “feedback” from state-of-the-art equipment that measures your physiological stress responses while you adjust your breathing, posture, or thoughts to produce changes in these responses. By practicing over time, you can learn how to adjust these responses in a way that is favorable toward reducing symptoms and improving overall well-being.
Physiological responses that can be measured via biofeedback equipment include:
Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV)
Skin conductance (“hand sweat”)
Breathing rate
Muscle tension
Peripheral blood flow
Types of problems that research has found biofeedback to be effective in treating include:
Anxiety
Chronic pain
Headache (migraine, tension, and mixed)
Hypertension (essential and “white coat”)
Motion sickness
Raynauld’s disease
Temporomandibular disorder (TMJ)
Biofeedback training combined with cognitive-behavioral techniques is a non-invasive, biopsychosocial approach. Depending on your specific needs, you may use this as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with other treatments (such as those prescribed by a physician or physical therapist). Treatment begins with an initial assessment that includes biopsychosocial measures and a clinical
interview. Your treatment will be coordinated with other professionals involved in your care.
Insurance Information
If a client has a PPO insurance plan and their plan allows "Out-of-Network Providers,” all of our clinicians can provide a client with a statement (i.e., a “Superbill”) to submit to their insurance for reimbursement. Below is a list of what a client should ask their insurance provider to help determine their level of coverage:
Does my plan cover "Out-of-Network Providers?"
What are the mental health reimbursement rates for a 1 to 2-hour initial evaluation (CPT code: 90791), a 45 to 50-minute therapy session (CPT code: 90834), and for a 60-minute therapy session (CPT code: 90837)?
How many sessions are covered per year?
Do I have to meet a deductible before I am reimbursed?
In addition, all potential clients are encouraged to ask about a “Good Faith Estimate” prior to starting therapy.
CBT Case Consultation, Supervision, & Training
Clinicians at CBH Partners are also available to provide CBT case consultation, supervision, and training to other mental health practitioners. At UCLA, Dr. Mystkowski serves as an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychology, with over 15 years of experience supervising clinical psychology graduate students. In addition, Dr. Mystkowski served as a supervisor to early-stage clinicians and psychological assistants while the Associate Clinical Director at Cognitive Behavior Associates (CBA) in Beverly Hills, California.
In his role as Director of Curriculum at the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Institute (CBTI) in Beverly Hills, California, Dr. Mystkowski participated in and developed APA-approved (American Psychological Association) continuing education (CE) offerings on a variety of topics for both clinicians and consumers: CBT101-Basics & CBT102-Advanced Skills, CBT for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), CBT for Insomnia (CBT-i), CBT for Bipolar Disorder (i.e., CRT: Circadian Rhythm Therapy), CBT for Psychosis (CBTp), Parenting, Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) for Chronic Depression, CBT for PTSD (i.e., PE: Prolonged Exposure), the Unified Protocol (UP) for Emotional Disorders, Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), Biofeedback, and Transgender Competence.