CBIT therapy for tics & Tourette syndrome

If your child has tics or Tourette syndrome, they might be frustrated by the impact their tics have on their daily lives. But with Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT), we can help your child manage and minimize their tics without the challenges and potential side effects of taking medication.

Schedule a consultation with pediatric neurologist Dr. Michael Hammer to find out if CBIT is right for your child.

What is CBIT therapy?

Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is a non-drug treatment that teaches people with tic disorders how to manage their tic urges and behaviors.

How does CBIT therapy work?

CBIT is a weekly highly structured therapy session – typically 8 sessions over 10 weeks depending on your child’s needs.

During these sessions, a therapist will work with your child to:

• Become more aware of their tics or their urge to tic
• Perform a specific behavior that makes the tic more difficult to do as soon as the tic or urge appears
• Make changes to their day-to-day activities and environments in ways that help reduce tic triggers

CBIT therapy attempts to help your child figure out the factors in their environment that make their tics worse. During their sessions, your child will learn how to create an environment that is more stable, predictable and manageable.

They will also learn skills to cope with environments that are stressful or that tend to increase tics without having to use voluntary suppression. Voluntary tic suppression can be done short term to reduce tics but isn’t a very effective long-term strategy.

How effective is CBIT therapy?

Studies show more than half of people who undergo CBIT therapy will experience significant reductions in tic severity and improved ability to function. Complete elimination of all tics happens occasionally with CBIT, but that is not what is expected.

CBIT therapy is not a cure for tics, but rather a tool to help your child better manage their tics and reduce the negative effects that tics may have. If your child is taking medication for tics, they may get additional benefits from CBIT but they may still need to continue with medication following the therapy.

Time and hard work are needed for CBIT therapy to work well. As with any new skill, CBIT will require more work at the beginning to master the techniques and then should become easier over time.

CBIT therapy at Advocate

Before your child's first session:

• Order the “Managing Tourette Syndrome” workbook from an online retail bookstore
• Print and fill out a Yale Global Tic Severity Scale [PDF] form and take it with you to your child's first session

During the 10-week therapy schedule:

The schedule may vary depending on the needs of your child. Plan to attend 1 session per week.

Week 1: Evaluation of your child's needs

Week 2: Introduction to techniques

Weeks 3-9: Learn and practice techniques

Week 10: Evaluation of progress

Following the program:

You’ll continue working with your child on the techniques learned throughout therapy. We'll reach out to schedule your child for a follow-up appointment.

Schedule a consultation

Find out if CBIT therapy is right for your child by making an appointment with pediatric neurologist Dr. Michael Hammer to discuss diagnosis and treatment options for tics and Tourette syndrome.