Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are your fees?

Anxiety & Phobia Support Group fees are:
- Wednesday 12 noon $20 per meeting
- Wednesday 7 pm $30 per meeting

Public Speaking/Social Anxiety Group fee is:
- Thursday 5:30 pm $25 per meeting

Contact us regarding the fees for our Phobia Workshop, Freedom to Fly Workshop and Health Anxiety Program. 

2. Do you take insurance?
Yes.  White Plains Hospital Center is in network with several insurance carriers.  (Note that insurance reimbursement is only applicable to workshops, not to support groups.)  Once we have received your insurance information, our Patient Account Department will determine whether or not your carrier is among our Network Providers.
We can also determine whether or not your policy provides for Out of Network Benefits, in which case your insurer will reimburse you according to their reimbursement scale.
We offer a sliding scale based on need.

3. Does our program conflict with private talk therapy?
No.  The principals of our work are based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and desensitization.  Our work with clients is intended to lay a foundation of CBT and to begin a systematic program of Exposure Therapy to the feared object or Situation.  Many of our clients are in therapy privately and also attend our Program.

4. Does being on medication preclude participation in your programs?
No.  Our population consists of both clients taking medication and clients who are not taking medication,

5.  Do you dispense medication?
No.

6. What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) is an approach that aims to influence problematic and dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure.

CBT treatments have received empirical support for efficient treatment of a variety of clinical and non-clinical problems, including anxiety disorders.  It is often brief and time-limited. It is used in individual therapy as well as group settings, and the techniques are also commonly adapted for self-help applications.

In our programs, the objective is typically to identify and monitor thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and behaviors that are related and accompanied to negative emotions and to identify those which are dysfunctional, inaccurate, or simply unhelpful. This is done in an effort to replace them with more realistic and useful ones.  Behaviorally, our program offers “supportive desensitization,” in the phobic or anxious situation.  The object is to practice the CBT skills in the situation in which the anxiety is occurring.  Research indicates this is the most effective treatment of phobias and panic disorder.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of counseling that focuses on teaching clients to:

• gradually confront the things they fear in order to feel less afraid
• learn healthier ways of coping with stressful situations
• become aware of--and then change--the way they think in critical situations.

CBT is different from other kinds of psychotherapy or "talk therapy." Whereas some forms of therapy focus on helping the person to discover why they feel anxious, CBT emphasizes teaching the person how to feel less anxious. Whereas traditional psychotherapy often takes place over several years, CBT is designed to be a relatively brief treatment with distinct, tangible goals. The advantages of CBT are a lack of unwanted side effects and long-lasting beneficial effects that continue even after the person leaves treatment. time and effort on the part of the person with the anxiety disorder.

How is CBT administered?

• Individual Therapy - Treatment may be provided on an individual basis.  This means that patients will meet one on one with a clinician approximately once a week.  Given that CBT is designed to be a short term treatment, patients in individual therapy will be seen for up to 20 sessions.  After 20 sessions patients seeking additional treatment may be referred to one of our groups or may be referred to a therapist outside the Anxiety Center for longer term treatment. 
• Group Therapy - Therapy may also be provided on a group basis. In group workshops, patients will meet with a clinician and several other patients to discuss and work on problems similar to their own. Group therapy follows a CBT format and we actively engage in tasks aimed at reducing anxiety during our group sessions.

7.What is “Supportive Exposure Therapy”?
In Supportive Exposure Therapy, our Phobia Counselors work individually with our clients in the situations in which the anxiety occurs.  For example, our counselors work with clients in elevators, driving on highways and bridges, etc. in manageable steps toward clients' goals.  

8. Do you have other locations providing this service?
Our only location is at the White Plains Hospital Center, in White Plains, NY.   Our client base is primarily from the tri state area. But referrals can be made nationally.  

9. I live far away.  How can your Center help me?
We offer an Intensive Program designed for people who live at a distance from White Plains, New York and are able to stay in the area for one to two weeks. See more details in the Intensive Section of our site.

The overall program includes:

• Evaluation appointment with Fredric Neuman, M.D., Director of the Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center.
• Intake interview with Judy Chessa, L.M.S.W., Coordinator, The Anxiety & Phobia Treatment Center.
• Two to three one-hour practice sessions per day with our trained Phobia Counselors in the context of the phobia.
• Attendance at 1½ hour anxiety and phobia group meetings (2 per week): Wednesdays at 12 noon and 7:00 p.m.; also available: attendance at our weekly Obsessive/Compulsive Group or the Public Speaking/Social Anxiety Group
• Instructional materials and tapes.

If you are unable to travel to us, we can discuss other options.

10. Do you treat adolescents? 
At the present time we include in our Program clients who are 15 years old or older.  But we are able to offer referrals for adolescents who are younger than 15 years of age.

11. Do you treat children? 
We do not have a program for children at this time but can provide referrals to the appropriate professionals.

12.  What is your success rate? 
Based on the results of six month and four year follow up questionnaires our 92 % of clients respond that “they have been helped very much.”