In this blog series, Steve Pally, administrator of the TSFC Forum (www.tourettesyndrome.ca), explains the basics of CBIT, or Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics.
Studies published in peer reviewed journals have demonstrated the effectiveness of CBIT (part 1).
It’s thought to work by strengthening the neural pathways between the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The basal ganglia is the region of the brain where Tourette Syndrome is thought to originate by the spontaneous release of unwanted muscle actions, while the prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain where voluntary control over our actions occurs.
CBIT breaks the premonitory urge → tic → relief feedback cycle by implementing a Competing Response (CR), an action that’s less conspicuous than the tic itself and can be performed without any external aids or devices.
(Please note that even though behavioral therapies like those involved in CBIT can help reduce the severity of tics, this does not mean that tics are just psychological or that anyone with tics should be able to control them—tics due to TS are very much neurologically based and involuntary. CBIT is not “Stop It” therapy, but rather “Do Something Else” therapy.)
In time, usually after a few of months of applying the CR combined with the other comprehensive components of CBIT, most children develop the ability to manage their tics to their satisfaction.
Having learned the techniques taught in CBIT, the child is then able, usually on their own, to develop their own CRs for other bothersome tics, and continue using the relaxation strategies and the knowledge gained from understanding their tic triggers to more effectively manage their symptoms throughout their lives.
About the blogger: Steve Pally was diagnosed with TS as an adult in his mid-forties. He has volunteered with TSFC for nearly three decades and currently co-administers the TSFC information and support Forum at www.TouretteSyndrome.ca. His interest in CBIT was sparked when he realized many of the strategies taught in a ten-week period in CBIT today were familiar to him, but took him decades on his own to discover them, as have many other adults with TS. That’s why he is eager to acquaint as many people as he can with CBIT so they can take advantage of recent developments for tic management.
