Dr. Michael McKee is experienced in the treatment of a wide variety of behavioral problems. Here are some examples:
Hypochondria, Heightened Illness Concern, Health Anxiety
(all describe the same mental health problem)
Excessive worry that a physical sensation or symptom is evidence of a serious underlying illness. Doctor visits, tests and evaluations find no medical explanation for the symptoms, and reassurance from others doesn't help relieve distress. Physicians may come to be seen as uncaring or unconcerned that the individual continues to be suffering. People with heightened illness concern may have insight into the excessive nature of their worry when they are feeling better. However, but this insight may evaporate when they experience their physical symptoms as worse and their fear flares up.
Dr McKee was interviewed about Heightened Illness Concern for an issue of New York Magazine:
http://nymag.com/health/bestdoctors/2008/47567/
Social Anxiety
Social discomfort, or shyness, is part of everyone’s life at one time or another, and to varying degrees.
Persons who suffer from social anxiety disorder feel this discomfort to a far greater intensity, frequency and duration. They are tormented by thoughts that their behavior is watched and negatively evaluated by others. The physical experience of anxiety multiplies their pain. They feel flushed, they sweat, their hands shake and their hearts pound. Their experience goes far beyond what might be called normal shyness.
The disorder has been divided into subtypes: a generalized subtype, and a subtype that applies to various specific phobias such as public speaking, eating in public, or urinating in a public facility when others are waiting.
Review of treatments
Persons who suffer from social anxiety disorder feel this discomfort to a far greater intensity, frequency and duration. They are tormented by thoughts that their behavior is watched and negatively evaluated by others. The physical experience of anxiety multiplies their pain. They feel flushed, they sweat, their hands shake and their hearts pound. Their experience goes far beyond what might be called normal shyness.
The disorder has been divided into subtypes: a generalized subtype, and a subtype that applies to various specific phobias such as public speaking, eating in public, or urinating in a public facility when others are waiting.
Review of treatments
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
From time to time, all of us have fears which in retrospect we might see as unreasonable, and manage these fears by checking or fixing overmuch.
OCD behavior is differentiated from normal behavior by examining the characteristics of potential problem behavior: 1) Frequency—how often the thought or behavior occurs, 2) Intensity—the degree to which attention is focused on the fear or compulsion 3) Duration—how long the fear or compulsion persists. High levels on these dimensions, resulting distress, low self esteem and impaired social and work functioning add up to a diagnosis of OCD. People with OCD are often capable of work, but many have reduced capacity for work or are unable to work at all.
OCD is often characterized by avoidance of circumstances which trigger obsessive compulsive activity. People may avoid dirt or the perception of a soiled surface by not beginning to clean, by not turning lights on, avoid leaving home, avoid social contact, or if they have an obsessional fear of impulsively harming others, they avoid behavior which individual feels might injure another (carrying bags in hands in order to avoid striking others while walking; avoid holding a child; avoid using knives or tools when others are around).
One patient's struggle
Coping with OCD in the workplace
Effects of OCD on attention