Tic Disorders
PROVIDING THE BEST AVAILABLE TREATMENT...
The Tourette Association of America published the first large scale study demonstrating that a non-medication treatment can effectively reduce tic severity for those with conditions such as Tourette's Disorder. This treatment is called the Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT). The new therapy has brought new hope to the TS community around the world, but unfortunately we still have a long way to go in having enough clinicians who are skilled in this treatment.
What is CBIT?
CBIT is a non-medicated and structured treatment consisting of three important components:
(a) Training the patient to be more aware of tics and the urge to tic.
(b) Training patients to do competing behaviour to prevent the tic.
(c) Making changes to day to day activities in ways to reduce tics.
Given Tourette's is a neurological disorder and that tics are involuntary, how can CBIT possibly work?
Although Tics are neurological in nature, they are often also extremely sensitive to the environment in which they occur. All people with Tourette's will experience situations that make the tics worse. CBIT attempts to help children or adults familiarize themselves and identify environmental factors that make their tics worse.
How effective is CBIT and is it just another fad?
Ivan Mathieson prides himself on keeping up with and providing treatments that have strong support from scientific research. Large, multi-site, United States Of American Institutes of Health-funded studies show that more than half of the people who undergo CBIT will have significant reductions in tic severity and improved ability to function. Although complete elimination of all tics and other symptoms does happen occasionally in CBIT, it is not a cure for Tourette's but a tool that helps individuals better manage their tics and improves their quality of life.