Dr. Chok was initially trained in the delivery of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy during graduate school. At that time, Dr. Chok worked in an outpatient clinic serving children and adults from the community who presented with a wide range of psychological disorders. Dr. Chok served as the Assistant Director for the clinic during his last two years of training while continuing to provide outpatient services. In addition, he completed an externship at a psychiatric inpatient unit which involved ongoing consultation with an attending psychiatrist to help determine appropriate therapeutic services in preparation for discharge to a less restrictive level of care. During graduate school, Dr. Chok learned that challenges in life can be understood through the lens of science and research. Everyday challenges, such as sleep disruption, communication challenges, and developing effective study habits, can be improved using principles from the science of human behavior.
During his internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Dr. Chok provided individual and group therapy in a partial hospital program, as well as an outpatient clinic. Dr. Chok’s experience at McLean Hospital fostered an appreciation for establishing a continuum of care when delivering psychological services. Clients experiencing increasing distress/impairment could be admitted to a higher level of care, such as the partial hospital or inpatient unit, whereas other clients could step down to a lower level of care when their symptoms improved. Coordination and collaboration amongst professionals within these settings was critical to helping clients receive the necessary supports given their current level of distress.
During his training experiences at both the graduate and post-graduate levels, Dr. Chok became increasingly interested in the treatment of panic disorder and OCD. Dr. Chok found both disorders to be responsive to highly structured behavioral treatments in which the patient was able to be an active participant in the treatment process. Following his postdoctoral training, Dr. Chok was fortunate to be able to give presentations on the neuropsychology and psychological assessment of OCD at McLean Hospital’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Institute (OCDI), a leading treatment center for individuals with moderate to severe treatment-resistant OCD.