This program is one of the top 3 best things to ever happen to me in my life. I cannot express the gratitude I have for the therapists here to be doing work that changes so many lives. I came in with severe OCD, and I left as someone who has never been in a healthier state, even before I developed OCD. This program not only teaches you how to manage your anxiety, but also how to motivate yourself to live the life you really want to be living.
If you're accustomed to traditional evidence-based therapies, like Cognitive Behavior Therapy, this experience will be very different for you. I was in CBT for a year before trying this, and at first I was skeptical because I had never heard of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy before. BUT IT WORKS. Unlike CBT, where the goal is to rid you of your anxiety (which sounds good in theory right? But doesn't actually happen), the goal here is to make peace with your anxiety and have the tools to live life the way you want to, even while having anxiety. That's not to say that the anxiety doesn't go down, but the point is that that's not the explicit goal. However, it is often the case that the best way to achieve less anxiety is by stopping the struggle with the anxiety and accepting it.
I am currently out of the program and have been for a few weeks, and I continue to see myself making progress. I'm following the after-care instructions and doing mindfulness every day, and I have never felt more fulfilled in my life. I am able to motivate myself to reach my goals and to do the things that I really want to do. I now feel like I have about as much anxiety as a person who has some anxiety, not someone who has a severe anxiety disorder. I still get errant thoughts that I would rather not have, but most of the time I notice them and they pass quickly, and if they are stickier, I usually am able to handle it myself. I have improved in every area of life that was impacted by my anxiety disorder, from being able to be alone to sleeping without heavy medication to not worrying about the safety of my loved ones. I know that there may be times in my life where my OCD flares up severely and I feel overwhelmed, but I know that I will be able to handle it and more than anything, I know that it will pass. I came into this program a skeptic who was desperate for help, and I am leaving as someone who is empowered, stable, and grateful.
The therapists at Sage are all very professional, willing and able to deal with any problem that arises or any concern you may have. If you have a problem with one of them, talk to them. They'll be understanding. If you come in here thinking you're the first person they've seen with your type of anxiety, you're wrong. They've seen it all, they've helped it all, and nothing surprises them. They care about each and every person who walks through that door. Also, most of them are LMFTs, which was surprising to me. But it makes sense, because all of them have made their careers around practicing therapy, instead of focusing on research. That's not to say that some of them don't have a more academic training, but this is a place that focuses on experience in practice rather than experience in research or theory. And that's great, because it creates an environment where people are knowledgeable about people and their issues. This is the single best therapy experience of my life. None of the ones previous can even come close to the level of care and support and progress I got from Sage.
One thing that I will address here is the potential concern about meditation being the cornerstone of this approach. My previous psychologist, when I told him that I was planning on going here, told me that he was concerned about the meditation portion of the approach, because meditation usually has the effect of being relaxing. However, this is not the type of meditation where one tries to empty thoughts from the mind, or where one tries to relax. It's mindfulness meditation, whose entire goal is to cultivate awareness of everything going on in the mind and body and the world around me. It is difficult, and usually not relaxing. The more I was in this program, the more I realized that mindfulness was the answer to all of the struggles I was having. How do I stop trying to control these thoughts? Mindfulness. How do I deal with the feeling of being overwhelmed? Mindfulness. How do I diffuse from thoughts? Mindfulness. It is the single most important thing you will do there, and it is worth it.
I hope this helps anyone who is struggling the way I was to find a place that helps them. I've known a lot of people who were patients at Sage, I came to care about a lot of them, and I don't know a single one who didn't make progress. This is tough work, to be sure. It's not an easy fix. But it DOES work, and the effort I've put in here has reaped benefits for me that will last my entire life. read more
