Answers to the Questions We Hear Most Frequently From Providers

InStride Health is a specialty pediatric anxiety/OCD outpatient treatment program for children, teens and young adults (ages 7-22). Our patients receive evidence-based treatment (CBT, ACT, components of DBT) with an emphasis on exposure, delivered by a coordinated care team of a psychiatrist, therapist, and coach. We offer a continuum of care, starting with more touch points each week and gradually reducing them as treatment progresses. Our program provides individual and family therapy, groups for both kids and for parents/caregivers, exposure coaching (scheduled and as needed) and medication management. We engage in Measurement-Based Care (MBC) to ensure data-driven transparency and accountability in our treatment. InStride treatment is fully virtual, a delivery format that has been demonstrated to be as effective as in-person treatment for youth with anxiety and/or OCD.

 At InStride Health, our care team understands what a privilege it is to be part of a child and family’s journey. Our clinical co-founders built InStride Health after a decade of hands-on experience building treatment programs at McLean Hospital – the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. We built InStride to disrupt the broken mental health system and improve access to evidence-based care that actually works for children, teens, and young adults. We have the training, expertise, proven clinical outcomes and, most importantly, the heart to help your patient learn and leverage the skills and strategies needed to quickly get back on track.

InStride Health treats all severity levels of anxiety and OCD, with particular focus on those with moderate to severe conditions where anxiety and/or OCD are interfering with functioning and causing a cascade of additional problems (e.g, social isolation, school avoidance, physical manifestations, depression and hopelessness). Many of these patients come to InStride from higher levels of care (e.g., inpatient or acute residential) and/or have tried multiple rounds of prior therapy and are still feeling stuck. It’s our view that these patients haven’t failed treatment but instead that these treatments have failed them, and our mission is to help them get their lives back on track with the right evidence-based care.

All patients must have anxiety and/or OCD as their primary disorder.

Early in the treatment process, our care team conducts a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation in order to develop an individually tailored, evidence-based treatment plan. Patients do not need a formal diagnosis to apply.

We engage patients and families in a fully virtual care journey that research has shown to be as effective as in-person treatment for youth with anxiety and OCD. The treatment plan is personalized to fit into the patient’s life, rather than the other way around. While we offer regularly scheduled therapy sessions, we also have real-time coaching and check-ins via phone and text to help engage kids in treatment and increase accountability, as well as opportunities to be supported by the therapist/coach virtually while doing exposure exercises out in the community (using portable devices and headphones)

Yes, we offer both individual and family therapy as well as groups for our patients and for parents/caregivers. InStride also has a parent-only track for situations when the child is unable or unwilling to participate in therapy but the caregivers want to learn evidence-based strategies to support their child.

Caregivers are an integral part of the treatment process. At a minimum, we ask that caregivers of minors participate in the initial clinical evaluation and medication evaluation as well as intermittent treatment review sessions. We also highly encourage parents/caregivers to participate in parent/caregiver groups and additional family and/or psychiatry sessions, as needed. Additional family support can be provided, as needed, and as coordinated by the care team. For young adults, we work with the young adult and family to determine the most appropriate plan of action, based on individual needs and circumstances.

Treatment is divided into three phases progressing from more to less intensive over the course of approximately 4-12 months. Time spent in each phase is tailored to the particular patient and depends on the severity of their anxiety/OCD.

At InStride we work very hard to ensure that patients/families can quickly access the care that they need.  There is no waitlist, so typically a patient’s care journey begins in as little as 1 to 4 weeks after the application is accepted.  The time to start therapy is often dependent on the family’s schedule.

No, we are not a school-based mental health program. We do, however, partner with school personnel during a patient’s journey to ensure consistency and support.