Practice Tools
Competing Response Practice
The foundation of CBIT — retraining the brain to respond differently to a targeted tic.
Competing Response Practice forms the basis of the Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics technique. This behavioral therapy has been repeatedly tested and evaluated over the past three decades and has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of tics. Over time, it has continued to be refined and adapted to make it more useful for a wider range of individuals and tics. Neither CBIT nor the competing responses (often called “CRs”) can guarantee effectiveness for all individuals or all tics, but it is something that can be offered without risk of side effects and often helps provide relief for most people.
The CR Practice tool in Gilles is not a replacement for therapy with a professional — a professional can actually get to know you, your tics, and your life circumstances in a way that no app can. What the CR Practice tool can provide is assistance with engaging in the practice, tracking your progress, seeing more clearly which CRs are producing a change in your tics, and keeping it all together. This works best in collaboration with a professional CBIT therapist, who can use the information you collect in Gilles to refine your practice.
Set up a session
Choose a tic and a CR
Select a target tic from your Tic Inventory or add a new one right from the CR Practice tool. You can record what kind it is, where it shows up, how often, how much it bothers you, and whether there's a premonitory urge — then set a session duration.
Connect a CR to your tic
From the library, or create your own
Pick from the competing responses you've already added to your CR Library, or connect a new one — either chosen from the built-in library or created custom for this tic.
Practice in real time
Tic only, Tic + CR, or CR only
During a session, tap to indicate what happened: the tic occurred with no CR, you noticed the tic and then performed your CR, or you were able to perform the CR before any tic occurred at all.
See what you logged
Outcome breakdown
Afterward, see a breakdown of what you logged during the session, then rate how tense or comfortable the practice felt overall — often a useful thing to track alongside the outcomes themselves.