CLINICAL WORK

Are you seeking information about Dr. Lack's private practice or information about Dr. Lack's training of clinical providers?

Resources for potential clients

Resources for clinical providers

BECOMING A CLIENT

Below is information about both what you need to know and do if you are interested in seeing Dr. Lack privately as a client, as well as general guidance towards choosing the best therapist for yourself.


Clinical Interests & Training

Dr. Lack is a clinical psychologist currently licensed to practice in the state of Oklahoma (HSP #1143) and previously in Arkansas (#07-37P). He also holds his Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT #6422) and can perform telehealth in all PSYPACT states (including Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and many others). He received his training in the APA-approved clinical psychology doctoral program at Oklahoma State University and completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Florida. 

Dr. Lack's primary clinical interest is in the application of evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to the treatment of severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders across the life span, such as social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, Tourette's Disorder or chronic tics, and trichotillomania. He is also an expert in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods used include exposure with response prevention (ERP), cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT), written exposure treatment (WET), and other well-studied and effective methods.

Dr. Lack sees a small number of private clients. Due to this and working full time as a professor, he cannot bill insurance for his clients, but is able to provide forms for you to turn into your insurance company. Dr. Lack charges a flat per-hour fee that is due upon receipt of service, as detailed below:

- $235 per hour in person (with an additional $0.75 per mile from my home charge if doing home based visits)

- $185 per hour telehealth

- $150 per hour telehealth for Written Exposure Treatment sessions

Dr. Lack performs both office-based and home-based therapy, but does charge a mileage fee for seeing people outside of Edmond. He also supervises graduate students performing therapy in the UCO Psychology Clinic. If you would like to contact Dr. Lack about being seen for therapy or for a consultation, please click the "Contact" link at the top of this page.


What is evidence-based practice?

Dr. Lack uses scientifically proven treatment and assessment methods, based on 60 years of evidence from basic and applied research, which shows that these methods work. Having been extensively trained in both the science and practice of psychology, Dr. Lack is familiar with the most reliable methods to treat a wide range of mental, behavioral, emotional, and physical problems. Via his teaching and supplementary training, he strives to keep up to date on the latest developments in the field so that clients are provided with the most effective services possible.

To learn more about evidence-based practice and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, the specific type of therapy used by Dr. Lack, please visit the following websites:

ABCT.org - What is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?

International OCD Foundation - How to Choose a Behavior Therapist

NACBT.org - Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

APA.org - Evidence-based Practice in Psychology

EBBP.org - Defining Evidence-based Behavioral Practice


How should I choose a therapist?

The best advice that Dr. Lack can give anyone when choosing a mental health professional is to see someone who practices evidence-based psychology. Stated simply, evidence-based psychology (EBP) is a guiding principle that means a therapist, whether that person is a psychologist, counselor, social worker, or psychiatrist, is guided in the treatment and assessment methods they use by the current best practices as defined by scientific evidence. Unfortunately, many therapists have not been trained in these methods, and instead rely on intuition, what they think has worked well, or what they were trained in - regardless of the evidence or lack thereof for its effectiveness. Asking a potential therapist what their primary therapeutic orientation is, and how they know the type of therapy they do works, are a great way to find out if a therapist uses EBP.

The second piece of advice is that you need to be sure that your therapist does not attempt to push their own personal values system onto you. While this is both an unethical and inappropriate thing to do, from his own experience with clients Dr. Lack can tell you that a large number of them report this happening. While this does not mean that you need to find a therapist with your exact religious, political, ethnic, and cultural background, it does mean that your therapist needs to respect what your beliefs and values are and recognize that their job as a therapist is not to convert you. If you find yourself in a situation where this is occurring, he would recommend giving the therapist a warning that you are becoming offended by their actions. If they continued to push their own agenda at the expense of your mental health, a report to the state licensing board would be appropriate.

CLINICIAN RESOURCES

As a psychologist, a scientist, and a professor, Dr. Lack has a deep concern that mental health practitioners use the current best evidence to guide the services they provide their clients. To that end, he has compiled (and will continue adding to) the below links. Included below are treatment manuals, workbooks, self-guided treatment options, and more. If you are aware of something that should be on this list, please contact him and he will include it if appropriate.

If you would like to have Dr. Lack give a training for your clinic or agency, please contact him. Over the past 15 years he has trained clinicians around the globe in how to treat difficult mental health issues in the most effective ways, both via in person trainings and webinars. Sample recent trainings are below:

Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Youth & Adults

Exposure Therapy for Fear and Anxiety 

Risk Assessment & Management: Ethical and Evidence-based Practices

Using Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics with Youth

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for Chronic Pain

DSM-5-TR: Changes and Updates to Know

Written Exposure Treatment for PTSD

Evidence-based Clinical Supervision


Psychopathology Resources


Treatment Guidelines

  • AACAP Practice Parameters - from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, PDFs of all their guidelines for treatment
  • Cochrane Library Reviews - contains independent assessments of the evidence base for various treatment options for developmental, psychosocial, and learning disorders
  • Interventions Recommended by the NICE - guidelines from the UK's National Health Service on best-practice options for common mental and behavioral disorders
  • EPC Evidence Reports - collections of mental health and substance abuse reviews from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a US Department of Health & Human Services funded agency
  • BEST Training on Evidence-Based Practice - an excellent 10 module training on what EBP actually is and looks like in the real world


Learning Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

  • Dr. Lack's "Learning CBT" - a collection of lecture materials, slides, and more that Dr. Lack has developed for his courses and workshops.
  • Teach CBT - the Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapies has gathered numerous tools, including videos, syllabi, and lectures, to help people learn about CBT
  • CBT Training Lectures - a collection of worksheets, training, and articles on CBT
  • CBT Competencies - an overview of the general and specific competencies needed by well-trained CBT clinicians; useful for conducting a self-study to determine which areas you need more training in
  • Child & Adolescent CBT Workshops - a collection of video trainings for doing evidence-based work with youth who are depressed, anxious, self-harming, and more. Also includes references for treatment manuals for each problem


Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Manuals & Tools

Society 


Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Self-Help

  • CBT Self-help Books - these have all received ABCT's "Seal of Merit," as they are based on empirically supported treatments
  • e-couch - an online CBT-based treatment for depression, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety
  • Mood Gym - an online CBT-based depression treatment


Recommended Therapist Locators

Association for Behavioral & Cognitive Therapy's "Find a Therapist"

Academy of Cognitive Therapy's Certified Therapists

International OCD Foundation's Treatment Providers

  • Although the focus is on OCD, the majority of the therapists in this database will be highly competent at treating other anxiety and related problems.

Secular Therapy Project

  • Dr. Lack is the former director of the STP as well as a member. Although it was designed to help connect non-religious clients with secular therapists, all of the clinicians in the database are carefully vetted to ensure that they are using evidence-based methods and, as such, are a great resource.

DR. LACK'S 'LEARNING CBT'

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