Practice Tools
Awareness Training
Build your ability to notice tics and the urges that come before them.
Awareness of tics and the urges that often come before them can be extremely helpful in managing tics. Awareness is an essential part of Habit Reversal Training and thus part of the Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) technique. However, there are additional potential benefits to practicing awareness training even beyond this. By practicing awareness and integrating that with mindful acceptance — as in the Tic Response Desensitization tool — individuals can train their brains to react less powerfully to the tics or the urges. This can provide much-needed relief from the distress and agitation tics often produce.
Choose a practice mode
Three ways to practice
Pick whichever fits the moment:
- Prompted Reflection — the app gently asks whether you just ticced at random intervals. Respond Yes, No, or Not sure. A low-pressure way to start building the habit of noticing.
- Active Tic Logging — tap the Motor or Vocal button each time you notice a tic in real time. Your counts are hidden until the session ends.
- Urge Logging — tap to log urges you felt but didn't act on, building awareness of the premonitory urge itself, not just the tic.
In the moment
Log as it happens
During a session, tap Motor or Vocal the instant you notice a tic, or tap Urge when you feel the premonitory urge without a tic following. A running timer keeps the session moving.
After each session
See what you noticed
Your counts — urge-only, motor tics, vocal tics, and urges that became tics — are revealed once the session ends and saved to your history.