Leslie Silver (PSY 18591) is a licensed clinical psychologist and the director of the Davis Anxiety Treatment Center in Davis, California. Dr. Silver treats adults and adolescents with anxiety disorders (panic and agoraphobia, worry, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, health anxiety and generalized anxiety) and mood disorders (depression, bi-polar disorder). She also treats sleep disorders and insomnia, body-focused repetitive behaviors (skin-picking, trichotillomania, nail-biting), and teaches anger and stress management. Additionally, Dr. Silver works with individuals and families coping with Type 1 diabetes, providing education and support with the emotional and health-related challenges of coping with this illness.  

Dr. Silver works from a cognitive-behavioral theoretical treatment model—the empirically validated treatment of choice for anxiety and mood disorders. She can work from both a brief model (10-20 sessions) or a longer model, depending on the treatment needs of the individual. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) looks at current thinking and behavior patterns and establishes concrete goals to get one's life back on track and to improve one's feelings of well-being. Treatment goals often center around increasing interpersonal awareness, decreasing unpleasant mood states, and creating helpful coping strategies and life skills to maximize one's wellness potential. Relaxation techniques are frequently taught and integrated into the therapy. Exposure exercises are used to treat agoraphobia and behavioral avoidance, and exposure with response prevention is a central treatment intervention when treating obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dr. Silver is also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), a helpful technique for posttraumatic stress and trauma-related symptoms.

Anxiety and mood disorders that have gone untreated for many years may cause people to get stuck in unfulfilling patterns of living and relating to others. A longer-term treatment is often warranted for such individuals.

Research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy has better long-term treatment outcomes than medication without therapy for anxiety disorders. Dr. Silver is one of the few therapists in Davis who works with anxiety and mood disorders from a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach.

Click here to read more about Dr. Silver.