Staff Spotlight- Robert Bond, Ph.D
Robert Bond is an anxiety therapist at Castlewood Treatment center and facilitates individual and group exposure and response prevention therapy. Robert came to Castlewood with eight years of experience treating individuals with various anxiety disorders and OCD. Robert’s interest in anxiety disorders was sparked during an abnormal psychology class in college. He was so intrigued in fact that he changed his major from Accounting to Psychology. His first mentor in college studied under Edna Foa, Ph.D- famed research psychologist in the treatment of OCD and PTSD, and encouraged Robert to get his PhD and specialize in anxiety disorders.
Robert joined the staff at Castlewood one year ago and shared that he has experienced Castlewood to have a unique approach to the treatment of anxiety disorder with co-occurring eating disorders. “Often when someone has a co-morbid disorder, in order to get them to comply with Eating Disorder treatment you must treat the underlying anxiety disorder. This is where the anxiety services staff come in,” shared Robert. Castlewood treats the anxiety disorder concurrently with the eating disorder through individual and group therapy. Castlewood takes a “multi-modal approach incorporating therapies that address the behavioral component, the thoughts and beliefs behind the behavior, and the expressive or experiential component,” said Robert. Clients not only work to change the problematic behavior, but they gain insight into the underlying core beliefs and work to challenge the beliefs and behaviors experientially while in supportive environment.
Robert shared that working at Castlewood has been a delightful experience because of the staff and the clients. “The staff have such an incredible level of talent and creativity. The clinical leadership team supports everyone in creative problem solving around our clients unique issues. Eating Disorders are so complex that it often takes multiple approaches to treat the entire clinical picture- and Castlewood provides that,” said Robert. “Robert is a very skilled clinician at treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders. He is thorough, demonstrates mastery of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and is a great addition to the Castlewood team, expressed Erin McGinty, Anxiety Services Coordintor and Program Director for Castlewood.
Robert enjoys working with the Castlewood clients. “They are bright, charismatic, and underneath the disorders lay a person who is desperate for connection. The work is rewarding as you build a therapeutic relationship with clients and see them develop and grow.” “Robert has the ability with his unique charisma to form a relationship with many clients who previously are averse to exposure work. Clients say this is the missing piece in their previous therapies,” said Mark Schwartz, Clinical Director for Castlewood.
