Recent Blog Articles

If cannabis becomes a problem: How to manage withdrawal

Corneal transplants becoming more common

An emerging treatment option for men on active surveillance

Gun violence: A long-lasting toll on children and teens

Adult female acne: Why it happens and the emotional toll

Talking to your doctor about your LGBTQ+ sex life

Untangling grief: Living beyond a great loss

Thunderstorm asthma: Bad weather, allergies, and asthma attacks

Heart problems and the heat: What to know and do

I’m too young to have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, right?
Harvard Health Blog
Intensive CBT: How fast can I get better?

- By Soo Jeong Youn, PhD, Contributor, and
- Luana Marques, PhD, Contributor
A highly effective psychotherapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on how our thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes can affect our feelings and behavior. Traditional CBT treatment usually requires weekly 30- to 60-minute sessions over 12 to 20 weeks. A faster option now emerging is intensive CBT (I-CBT), which employs much longer sessions concentrated into a month, week, or weekend — or sometimes a single eight-hour session.
CBT helps people learn tools to reframe different types of thinking, such as black-and-white thinking (I can’t do anything right) and emotional reasoning (I feel you dislike me, so it must be true) and other potentially harmful thought patterns that fuel mental health problems and undermine relationships, work, and daily life. Once learned, the coping strategies taught during CBT or I-CBT sessions can help people deal with a variety of problems throughout life.
Can intensive CBT help people with anxiety, depression, and other issues?
I-CBT has been used to treat many people suffering from mood and anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, and other issues. Some programs treat children or teens who have mild autism spectrum disorder (mild ASD), selective mutism, or prenatal alcohol exposure, or who are struggling with school refusal.
There are I-CBT programs that focus in specific areas, such as:
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- anxiety disorders, including agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety, specific phobias, panic attacks and panic disorder, and separation anxiety
- obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexual trauma, and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Is intensive CBT effective?
Research on effectiveness — or whether or not I-CBT works — is relatively new. Studies suggest it is effective for treating OCD. Children and adults who have this condition make similar, long-lasting gains with traditional or intensive CBT. It’s also effective for treating panic disorder in teens, anxiety symptoms in children with mild autism spectrum disorder, and severe mood disorders.
Additionally, fewer people drop out of treatment with I-CBT compared with traditional CBT.
Who might benefit from the short time span?
People with full-time jobs who find it difficult to take time off during the work week for weekly appointments might be able to commit to a weekend of intensive treatment. Teenagers busy with academics and activities during the school year may benefit from intensive sessions for a week during the summer. Families juggling multiple schedules can benefit from I-CBT because it allows them to focus on treatment without feeling their time is split among several other commitments. And people who live in areas without easy access to mental health services or specialists may be able to travel for a weekend for intensive treatment.
I-CBT may also help people who have tried traditional CBT, but have not found it feasible or successful. Alternatively, I-CBT sessions may introduce people to this form of psychotherapy, and its benefits, thus serving as a catalyst for traditional CBT treatment.
What are the drawbacks?
Most importantly, the effectiveness of I-CBT is still being evaluated. Intensive treatment requires specialized therapists who are trained to deliver I-CBT. It may not be possible to find a well-qualified program or therapist nearby, which would add to the cost and time commitment of treatment. Most insurance companies do not cover intensive treatments such as I-CBT, so it can be expensive.
Resources
Programs specializing in I-CBT for children and teens include the following:
- Boston University Child and Adolescent Fear and Anxiety Treatment Program, Boston, MA.
- Boston University Brave Bunch Program, Boston, MA.
- Child Mind Institute Intensive Treatment, New York, NY.
- McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, Belmont, MA.
- UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior Child OCD Intensive Treatment Program, Los Angeles, CA.
- UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital ABC Intensive Outpatient Program, Los Angeles, CA.
- University of South Florida Rothman Center for Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Intensive CBT for OCD, Tampa, FL.
- Weill Cornell Medicine Intensive Treatment Program (ITP) for Children and Adolescents, New York, NY.
Programs specializing in I-CBT for adults include the following:
- Emory Wesley Woods Hospital Adult Intensive Outpatient Counseling Program (IOCP), Atlanta, GA.
- Emory University Veterans Program, Atlanta, GA.
- Home Base Veteran and Family Care, Boston, MA.
About the Authors

Soo Jeong Youn, PhD, Contributor

Luana Marques, PhD, Contributor
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
Comments
Going to therapy isn’t exactly a skill, but the train of thought behind the therapy is something that needs to be learned so I can see how a deeper immersion would be beneficial. I prefer EMDR therapy myself though.
Interesting. I know when learning a new skill such as glassworking I benefited much more from practicing 8 hours a day for week over 1 hour a week over 8 week classes.
Going to therapy isn’t exaclt a skill, but the train of though behind the therapy is something that needs to be learned so I can see how a deeper imersion would be beneficial. I prefer EMDR therapy myself though.
Interesting article. My son had OCD so severe he could not even eat, and CBT in the form of exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy saved his life. I recount my family’s story in my critically acclaimed book, Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery (Rowman & Littlefield, January 2015) and discuss all aspects of the disorder on my blog at http://www.ocdtalk.wordpress.com.
I would proceed with caution with “flooding” (as in I-CBT)those with OCD as it often backfires:
https://wordpress.com/posts/ocdtalk.wordpress.com?s=ocd+and+flooding
Commenting has been closed for this post.
Free Healthbeat Signup
Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!