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Intensive Services

One unique aspect of KCCAT’s specialty, team-based approach is our ability to scale up treatment protocols to meet many patients’ needs that go above and beyond standard once-weekly psychotherapy. Our team of specialists is well versed in creating intensive treatment protocols to efficiently deliver maximum treatment benefit in a relatively short period. Each patient evaluated at KCCAT will be given a recommendation regarding the frequency and intensity of their treatment protocol, and not all presentations will be suitable for intensive services.

What does an intensive treatment protocol involve?

Intensive protocols (“intensives” for short, and sometimes called “accelerated” treatment) are tailored to each patient but often involve sessions occurring once or twice daily, usually lasting longer than a typical psychotherapy session (such as 90-120 minutes compared to 45-60 minutes). These sessions typically include close collaboration with your treatment team to set goals and use session time to actively learn and apply treatment skills. Time spent between sessions is usually dedicated to the practice of treatment skills through homework assignments, with the ability to have quick access to a treatment team member to help with problem-solving or between-session support. Intensives usually involve a “pre-intensive” period of treatment readiness sessions meant to equip you with foundational treatment skills and make a “game plan” to make the most of the intensive period. Depending on each individual’s needs, the intensive portion of treatment may last anywhere from one to several weeks, with sessions often decreasing in frequency and length over time.

What are the benefits of an intensive treatment approach?

  • Accessing specialty care in a short period if it is not available where you live
  • Ability to take advantage of breaks in school, work, or other responsibilities to get a greater “dose” of treatment in a relatively short amount of time
  • Decrease suffering by quickly moving through a treatment protocol and focusing on the “active ingredients” of treatment that lead to rapid symptom change
  • Increased access to support from your treatment team while tackling challenging parts of treatment

Who is a good fit for an intensive treatment protocol?

  • Someone who has tried once-weekly treatment for their anxiety or OCD but found that it hasn’t been sufficient to see symptom change
  • Someone highly motivated to see symptom improvement and ready to dive in
  • Someone who may not have access to a specialty treatment provider in their geographic region
  • Someone with moderate to severe symptoms that are interfering with daily functioning
  • Someone who has a particular goal that their fears are getting in the way of (e.g., someone with a fear of flying with an upcoming out-of-town event to attend)
  • All ages! For children and teens, a family member (or multiple!) willing to be present and support in this process is a must

While many presentations respond very well to intensive treatment protocols, OCD, Panic Disorder, Phobias, Selective Mutism, and PTSD lend themselves particularly well to intensive treatment models.

What if I don’t live in the Kansas City area?

We have had many patients and families come to our center from out of town or out of state to receive intensive services. There are multiple hotels, including extended-stay options, near our center that are a fantastic option for those coming to stay with us for an intensive treatment protocol. Additionally, depending on their geographic location and symptom presentation, some individuals may be a good fit for completing some or all of their intensive protocol via televideo.

Am I done with treatment after an intensive protocol?

OCD and anxiety disorders are chronic conditions, and many presentations do respond very well to intensive treatment approaches. Still, aftercare is needed to help translate treatment skills to “real life” and ensure all of the essential gains made during the intensive period are maintained beyond this period. This usually means continuing to meet with a KCCAT team member weekly or twice weekly to start, decreasing session frequency over time. If you have an outpatient therapist who is qualified to continue your aftercare, the KCCAT team will coordinate with them to facilitate the “step-down” process from your KCCAT intensive treatment protocol.

How do patients pay for intensive treatment protocols?

We fully recognize that specialty care for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and related disorders is an investment of your time and financial resources; thus, all of our treatment protocols are designed with clinical effectiveness and efficiency in mind. Our intensive protocols are tailored to individuals and do not contain “extras” that are not clinically indicated. Additionally, protocols are designed to deliver effective treatments at a higher “dose” for a period of time to reduce overall time and expenses spent on treatments provided at a sub-optimal pace.

A $500 deposit for intensive treatment services is required at least two weeks prior, which reserves the time slots for your intensive. This deposit is applied to your treatment balance and is non-refundable within two weeks of your intensive start date. (For intensives scheduled sooner than two weeks out, your primary KCCAT clinician or a member of our administrative team will provide details on the deposit and timing specific to that situation.)

Like our typical outpatient services, intensive services at KCCAT are considered “Out of Network” (please see our Fees & Policies page for more information on this). We offer a payment plan to help spread out the cost of treatment over time rather than paying for all of an intensive protocol in the moment. Our Clinic Operations Assistant can provide details about the payment plan when setting up services, or you can ask your assigned primary KCCAT Clinician.

We always provide a Treatment Cost Estimate to patients and their families when pursuing intensive treatment services so that you can make an informed choice.

Can I see an example of an intensive treatment protocol?

Of course! You can download a sample treatment protocol PDF document.