This past Thursday, Mountain Valley Treatment Center, along with the New York Presbyterian Youth Anxiety Center and Fusion Academy of Brooklyn, presented at the “Youth Anxiety Treatment Across a Continuum” Fall luncheon event at the beautiful New York Junior League on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.  The event was attended by over 50 clinicians, educators, and outreach representatives from across the City.

Dr. Shannon Bennett, Co-Clinical Director of the New York Presbyterian Youth Anxiety Center, gave a talk on the latest on the assessment and treatment of anxiety adolescents and adults.  Dr. Bennett’s presentation talked about the latest in neuro-science research, supporting the combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in particular the behavioral aspects of Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP).  Dr. Tim DiGiacomo, Clinical Director for Mountain Valley Treatment Center, followed Dr. Bennett’s presentation with a talk on how to make exposure work fun for teens, despite how challenging it can be.  Tim talked about how Mountain Valley uses all aspects of the 60 to 90 day residential program to provide opportunities for impromptu and prescribed exposure assignments.  Specifically, Tim discussed the “exposure olympics” the clinical team designed for one of our two weekly ERP groups.    Fusion Academy’s Randall Klein and Sarah Bernstein presented as well, addressing how to incorporate compassion and love into the classroom to support emotional and social well-being.

The two-hour event attracted private practice and organizational clinicians as well as educational consultants and advocates.  “This was an excellent event and it was great to learn more about treatment options and updated information about adolescent anxiety,” commented one mid-town Manhattan psychologist.

For more information on how Mountain Valley incorporates fun into the evidence based exposure work we do, please contact Dr. Tim DiGiacomo at tdigiacomo@mountainvalleytreatment.org.