Understanding Our Therapy Approaches

CBT is the foundation of treatment at Wellness Associates and one of the most extensively researched approaches in psychology. It is built on the understanding that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected — and that changing unhelpful patterns in one area can produce meaningful improvements across all three.

In practice, CBT is collaborative and skill-focused. You and your therapist work together to identify patterns that are keeping you stuck, develop practical tools to address them, and put those tools into action between sessions.

ERP is a specific, highly effective form of CBT developed for OCD and related conditions. It involves gradually and systematically facing feared situations, thoughts, or sensations (the "exposure") while refraining from the compulsive behaviors or avoidance strategies that typically follow (the "response prevention").

Over time, ERP helps the brain learn that feared outcomes either do not occur or can be tolerated, reducing the power of obsessions and the pull toward compulsions. It is widely considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD and is also used for related conditions such as emetophobia and other specific phobias. At Wellness Associates, ERP is available in both standard weekly therapy and intensive formats for those with more severe symptoms.

ACT is a modern, evidence-based approach that builds on the foundations of CBT. Rather than focusing primarily on changing the content of difficult thoughts, ACT helps individuals change their relationship to those thoughts — learning to observe them without being controlled by them.

A core goal of ACT is helping people clarify what matters most to them and take action in line with those values, even in the presence of discomfort, anxiety, or uncertainty. At Wellness Associates, ACT is used as a complement to other approaches across a range of conditions.

DBT was originally developed for individuals with significant difficulties regulating emotions and has since been adapted for a wide range of presentations. It integrates cognitive-behavioral techniques with concepts drawn from mindfulness practice, and is structured around four core skill areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

At Wellness Associates, DBT skills and strategies are incorporated into treatment where they are clinically appropriate — helping individuals develop greater emotional stability, improve relationships, and navigate difficult situations more effectively.

HRT is an evidence-based behavioral approach developed specifically for body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) — such as hair pulling (trichotillomania) , skin picking (excoriation disorder) , and nail biting — as well as tics and Tourette syndrome.

HRT works by helping individuals increase their awareness of the habit, understand the triggers and patterns that maintain it, and develop a competing response to replace it. At Wellness Associates, HRT is used as part of treatment for OCD-related and body-focused repetitive behaviors.

Parent Management Training is an evidence-based approach that teaches parents specific skills for responding to their child's challenging behaviors in ways that promote positive change. It is grounded in behavioral principles and focuses on helping parents understand the factors that maintain difficult behaviors, implement consistent and effective responses, and strengthen their child's prosocial skills.

PMT is offered at Wellness Associates as part of our parent training services , either alongside a child's individual therapy or as a standalone intervention.