The Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders, Inc. was founded in response to the lack of expertise and successful treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In 1994, upon completing her training with Dr. Edna Foa, an internationally renowned authority on the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety, Dr. Gorbis was granted the use of Dr. Foa's intensive method involving prolonged and repeated exposures and response prevention (ERP) for treating OCD. Dr. Gorbis had much success treating patients at the UCLA OCD Outpatient Program with the intensive ERP method, and many patients suffering from OCD came from around the world to seek this treatment for their debilitating condition.
In 1996, Dr. Gorbis began working with Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, and continued treating OCD patients using mindful awareness training and the 4-step method. Dr. Gorbis later integrated part of the 4-step method and mindful awareness training with the intensive ERP method in her attempt to improve treatment outcome. Due to the success and overwhelming response of her intensive integrated method, Dr. Gorbis established the Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders, Inc. in 1997 to better serve the community. Since then, Dr. Gorbis has successfully treated numerous patients from many parts of the world suffering from severe OCD, and has trained many clinicians from the United States and across the world on her intensive integrated method.
The mission of Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders, Inc. is to properly train clinicians to be effective in treating OCD, to improve OCD treatment through rigorous research, to eliminate the stigma attached to OCD through media appearances, and to disseminate knowledge of OCD through public education.
Dr. Gorbis will be lecturing on the "Comorbidity of OCD and Eating Disorders and its Implication to Treatment" to members of the LA County Psychological Association. She will be addressing the issue of comorbidity of OCD and eating disorders and the implications of each disorders in terms of etiology as well as treatment.
Dr. Eda Gorbis was featured in MTV's show, "TrueLife", a powerful, award-winning series that uniquely reflects the experiences and cultures of this generation.This episode documents the unusual—and often remarkable circumstances of real individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
Learn more about Body Dysmorphic Disorder on our blog.
To pre-qualify for this study, patients must be at least 18 yrs. old, have a documented diagnosis of OCD as defined by the DSM-IV-TR, have been taking one of the following SSRIs for at least six weeks prior to screening and at the minimum daily dosage listed: fuvoxamine (Luvox®) 200 mg, fluoxetine (Prozac®) 40 mg, paroxetine (Paxil®) 40 mg, sertraline (Zoloft®) 100 mg. The study is expected to last about 20 weeks. Each patient will receive study medication and study-related medical evaluations at no cost. Reimbursement for travel may also be provided. Please contact us for additional eligibility requirements.
Dr. Gorbis talks about Body Dysmorphic order, its successful treatment methods, and resources for therapists. Watch it now at http://www.psychotherapy.net/interview/eda-gorbis-body-dysmorphic.