Manage Tics and BFRB with ComB & CBIT
Tics or BFRB Really Bothering You?
Take control of tics,Tourette's, and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors with occupational therapy support from Online OTs. We are a leader in CBIT & ComB Habit Reversal Training and offer effective, convenient, and compassionate care. Services are available via telehealth in MA, NH, VT, ME, NY, and CT.
Learn How to Manage Tics, Tourette's, and BFRB
Online OTs is a telehealth practice supporting patients and families struggling with Tourette Syndrome and similar Tic Disorders, as well as Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB). We are dedicated to providing the necessary training to help get vocal and motor tics and body-damaging concerns quickly under control in a compassionate and goal-directed manner.
With Online OTs' guidance, patients learn to master practical strategies that directly block their unwanted repetitive behaviors. Our telehealth approach enables techniques to be put right into practice at home and in the community, greatly reducing the number of necessary visits as compared to clinic based treatment.
Online OTs utilizes occupational therapy sensory integration and physical rehabilitation strategies in conjunction with CBIT and ComB Habit Reversal Training.
Take control of your tics and/or BFRB from the comfort and privacy of your home with ComB & CBIT Habit Reversal Training.
individualized and effective habit reversal training
Online OTs has expanded the scope of traditional Habit Reversal Training to better address the complex neurological and emotional needs of our patients. Our practice utilizes a combination of both ComB & CBIT Habit Reversal Training and consists of the following components:
- Referring patients to qualified medical professionals for an accurate diagnosis.
- Educating patients and their families about their conditions.
- Reviewing medical histories and how they relate to present concerns.
- Raising awareness of the frequency and intensity of tics and repetitive behaviors.
- Demonstrating exactly how their bodies move while engaging in their respective behaviors.
- Identifying a premonitory urge to help prevent future movements.
- Learning what triggers and delays the situation.
- Modifying the home, car, work, and school environments to decrease sensory overload or sensory deprivation. (Most people with tics and BFRB are very bright and need more sensory stimulation than others to avoid tic and BFRB episodes).
- Redirecting negative thoughts.
- Reducing stress through engagement in purposeful activities.
- Mastering an individualized competing response to block tics or BFRB and drive down the urge to perform them.
Tics, Tourette's, and BFRB
Tourette Syndrome / Tic Disorders
Tourette Syndrome / Tic Disorders
Tourette Syndrome / Tic Disorders
Tics are repetitve, sudden, quick, and involuntary movements or vocalizations. The neurological cause is not fully understood and patients are often wrongly accused of misbehaving or trying to draw attention to themselves. Common tics include blinking, shoulder shrugging, head jerking, throat clearing, coughing, jumping, mouth widening, nose scrunching, humming, and saying words or phrases repeatedly. The number, frequency, and intensity of tics vary from patient to patient and throughout the day and over time. Tics often decrease quality of life by causing pain, embarrassment, frustration, and anxiety. Tics can make it hard to get to sleep at night and to socialize and perform daily activities during the day. People with Tic Disorders often have significant co-existing conditions such as OCD, ADHD, BFRB, Anxiety, Dysgraphia, and Autism. The associated learning disorders and disabilities tend to be even more traumatic and long lasting than tics. Online OTs provides CBIT Habit Reversal Training for the following Tic Disorders:
Tic Disorders:
- Tourette Syndrome (Tourette Disorder, Tourette's, TS)
- Provisional Tic Disorder (Transitional Tic Disorder)
- Persistent Tic Disorder (Chronic Tic Disorder)
- Motor Tics and Vocal Tics, NOS
In addition, Online OTs is a leader in the management of Functional Movement Disorders that involve tic-like behaviors. Our occupational therapy practice played a major role in helping to manage the TikTok Tic crisis that erupted during the early years of the pandemic. TikTok Tics was a mass sociogenic illness that hit anxious and isolted youth following repeated viewing of social media with exaggerated tic-like content.
Many people who have a Persitent Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder or Tourette Syndrome (which involves both motor tics and vocal tics) also have a Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior such as compulsive nail biting.
Body-focused repetitive behaviors
Tourette Syndrome / Tic Disorders
Tourette Syndrome / Tic Disorders
Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB) is an umbrella term for a cluster of compulsive and habitual grooming actions that cause significant damage to a patient's hair, skin, or nails. Most of these behaviors start in childhood and are a source of significant distress and isolation. Online OTs utilizes CBIT & ComB Habit Reversal Training to raise awareness of sensory, cognitive, environmental, motor, and emotional triggers that lead to harmful behaviors. Patients learn to modify their surroundings and to protect themselves with blockers ranging from household items to competing response holds. Patients are also introduced to wearable technology and community supports. Therapy also involves developing plans to replace time currently spent on unwanted actions with enjoyable leisure activities. Online OTs provides ComB & CBIT Habit Reversal Training for the following BFRBs:
- Skin Picking Disorder (Excoriation)
- Hair Pulling Disorder (Trichotillomania, Trich)
- Nail Biting Disorder
- Lip Biting Disorder
- Cheek Biting Disorder
- Repetitive Scratching Disorder
- Thumb Sucking Disorder
Telehealth for Tics, Tourette's, and BFRB
Skip the long drive to a hospital, frustrating search for a parking space, crowded waiting room, risk of catching COVID, and the need to book an appointment months in advance. Teleheath with Online OTs is extremely personalized and effective. Plus, fidgets, doodling, snacks, and pets are welcome at all visits.