Bob

Mr Bob Safion, M.Ed

CBT Psychotherapist

verified by TherapyRoute

I specialize in the treatment of OCD, including sexual and harm themes. I also treat Travel/Transport Agoraphobia related to Panic as well as specific Phobias. When contracted, I will travel to the client's country of residence to provide in-person exposure coaching for transport agoraphobia. Additionally, I offer a program to overcome Fear of Flying, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Inference-Based Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy in conjunction with the oVRcome remote Virtual Reality platform https://www.ovrcome.io/

About Me

I am originally from New York City. Typical Mid-town Manhattan upbringing at that time: stickball, playgrounds in Central Park, climbing fences, watching shell games on Broadway. Twenty two years later, I left NY, traveling around the US and Canada, working odd jobs. I eventually moved to Massachusetts, where I studied Psychology at the University of Massachusetts. After graduation, I first worked at a residential treatment center and then with the area Latino community. My experiences with that community inspired me to study Spanish in Guatemala, and then to travel and work in Nicaragua, Ecuador and Mexico. I moved to Barcelona, Spain, where I worked for five years and met my partner. Upon returning to the US, I first worked in mental health clinics serving the Latino population. After opening my private practice, I was drawn to help sufferers of OCD and anxiety, and over 17 years, I trained and eventually collaborated with Dr. Kieron O'Connor and Dr. Fred Aardema, both researchers at University of Montreal Canadwho had developed Inference -Based Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT). Five years ago, I began to offer remote treatment therapy throughout Western and Eastern Europe, with a focus on OCD, Travel Agoraphobia with Panic and Fear of flying.

Approach

For those suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I use CBT and Inference-Based Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) approaches to guide clients through a structured, empirically-based method to manage and overcome this potentially debilitating condition. Sessions are paced and collaborative: we first deconstruct obsessional and anxiety narratives, identify the reasoning devices that maintain these, and set small, measurable goals that include progressive exposure-known as Reality Sensing in I-CBT- to safely recover previously avoided or feared situations. Homework is brief and incrementally targeted, so progress carries into daily life. Highly motivated people who appreciate clear structure, steady pacing, and hands-on practice tend to find this approach effective and life-changing. For Transport Agoraphobia with Panic, I start treatment with the classic Panic Control therapy, adding I-CBT to classic cognitive restructuring. We then organize the specific types of transport feared and avoided into a ladder of difficulty. I then introduce imaginal rehearsal, followed by virtual reality exposure, again using the oVRcome platform to prime desensitization. We finally move on to progressive, in vivo or live exposures to the feared transport situations. There follows a period of incemental exposure up the ladder of difficulty until the person is fully desensitized and able to recover normal travel. The final phase involves recovering areas of life, activities, career and relations that had been avoided or shelved, allowing the person to live a more complete life, previously lost to anxiety
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Basic Information

Services


I specialized in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, with particular focus on unwanted sexual/harm obsessions, Agoraphobia with panic related to transport and travel, Fear of Flying, and Specific phobias. I provide virtual therapy across Eastern and Western Europe. I do offer remote Virtual Reality treatment using the Ovrcome platform https://www.ovrcome.io/. Additionally, I will travel to countries of residence to provide 5-7 day in-person intensive exposures to transport and travel situations that clients fear and avoid.

Services Offered:

  • Counseling
  • Online Therapy
  • CBT

Works With:

  • Adults
  • Individuals

Area of Expertise


Scope of Practice:

  • Anxiety
  • Phobias
  • OCD
  • Young Adult Issues

Professional Title:

  • CBT Psychotherapist

Qualifications


M.Ed (Counseling Psych)

Cambridge College

Year: 1998

Registrations


B​o​a​r​d​ €‹o​f​ ​A​l​l​i​e​d​ ​M​e​n​t​a​l​ ​H​e​a​l​t​h​ €‹a​n​d​ ​H​u​m​a​n​ ​S​e​r​v​i​c​e​s

Mental Health Counselor

Service Areas


Anxiety OCD Solutions online to clients near Karl-Marx Allee

In-person & Online

Friedrichshain

Berlin, Brandenburg

Germany

Anxiety and OCD Solutions-Online to clients near Burnt Oak Broadway

In-person & Online

Burnt Oak

London, England

United Kingdom

Anxiety and OCD Solutions-Online to clients near Amesterdam UMC

In-person & Online

Amsterdam-Zuidoost

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland

Netherlands

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