FAQ

what is your approach to treatment

I use behaviorally-oriented treatment approaches to address anxiety, OCD, and related disorders. I primarily use cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and incorporate elements of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). See the anxiety & OCD treatment page for more information.

what is your clinical experience and area of specialty?

I have been a licensed clinical psychologist since 2010. I was on the faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine for 8 years, where I was the Director of Education for Psychology for 5 years. Throughout my training and career I have focused on working with individuals with anxiety, OCD, and related challenges. See the Dr. Hughes page and my Curriculum Vitae for more details on my training and clinical experience.

WHAT TECHNIQUES DO YOU USE TO TREAT OCD AND WHAT IS YOUR TRAINING AND BACKGROUND IN TREATING OCD?

I use a cognitive behavior therapy intervention called exposure and response prevention (ERP) primarily to address OCD. I attended Temple University for my PhD in clinical psychology. Temple is one of the leading graduate programs for training clinicians in exposure-based treatments for anxiety and OCD. I have presented my clinical work at the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and have provided training on ERP at the Annual Conference of the American Psychiatric Association. I am a past Chair of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Special Interest Group.

initial Evaluation

I begin treatment with a thorough diagnostic evaluation and a values assessment. The initial evaluation takes 2 to 3 hours to complete. After the initial evaluation is complete, I provide feedback on my findings and collaborate with clients and families to develop shared treatment goals.

For adult clients the evaluation can be scheduled over one or two appointments.

For children and younger adolescents, I usually complete the first part of the evaluation with only the parents/guardians present. I then schedule an appointment on a separate day to meet the child for the first time with their parent/guardian present. I have found that this makes the evaluation process more efficient for the parents and more comfortable for the child.

For older adolescents, I usually schedule the teen to come along with their parents/guardians to the initial evaluation. We split the evaluation between time together as a family, time with parents/guardians alone, and time with the adolescent alone. We decide how to split the time based on the preferences of the teen and their family.

ongoing sessioNs

After the initial evaluation, potential clients and I will decide together if we will begin weekly therapy. This determination is based on our mutual sense of treatment fit. Sessions are usually scheduled weekly, but may occur more frequently if needed. Behavioral treatments are generally short-term, meaning that I often work with patients for 12 to 25 sessions. Toward the end of treatment, we space sessions out to biweekly and then monthly before ending treatment. At that point, generally clients have learned the skills they need and can practice them on their own. I do engage in longer-term treatment when appropriate.

privacy

Therapy works best when clients trust that what they discuss in therapy is private. I take my clients’ right to privacy and confidentiality very seriously. I follow New York State guidelines to maintain the confidentiality of my clients. I discuss my privacy procedures in detail during the initial evaluation.

Limits of confidentiality: There are certain circumstances in which I am mandated to break confidentiality. These are mostly related to risk, such as a client expressing a wish to harm themselves or someone else, or concerns about child abuse. I discuss these limits to confidentiality in detail during the initial evaluation.

family engagement

For adult clients: I fully respect a client’s right to privacy. I am happy to have partners and family members participate in a client’s treatment, but only if the client wants them to do so. This would be determined after careful consideration with the client and would occur with the client present and with written permission.

For child and adolescent clients: I discuss how confidentiality works for child and adolescent clients and their families from the first evaluation session. Generally, parents/guardians are an active part of a younger child’s treatment. They may provide background information on the challenges the child is facing, help develop treatment goals, participate in sessions in which they learn about anxiety and its treatment, and support their child in completing between-session practice. For older adolescents, parents/guardians may be less engaged in the day-to-day of therapy, but are still part of treatment decisions.

teletherapy

I offer teletherapy over a HIPAA-compliant video conferencing system. I am licensed in New York (018659) and New Jersey (35SI00643200) and can offer teletherapy to residents of those states.

FAQ