WHO ARE WE?
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to help those impacted by anxiety either through direct service delivery or empowering communities with the tools they need to support anxious youth. Our individual commitment is delivered through individual, group, bootcamp sessions to youth and families who suffer from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, developing innovative / comprehensive treatments that revolve around the core FACE your FEARS curriculum. Our community commitment is delivered through training and partnerships with key community stakeholders (school systems, community mental health, doctors offices, and parents) focused on equipping these people and organizations with the knowledge and tools to understand and address anxiety in their respective spheres of influence with youth.
OUR STORY
Dr. Cypers freely shares that he was an anxious child in his youth. His parents identified his anxiety and brought him to a psychologist in the 4th grade. He notes that while the relationship was supportive and beneficial (he always reminds folks he is partially a psychologist today because of it), he understood that he never really learned any tools or supports for his anxiety so continued to be plagued by it. This experience lead him to purse a degree in psychology, with the belief that we can harness the power of the therapeutic relationship yet give people tools and understanding to hasten the change process. He devoted his studies and career to this pursuit, leading to the FACE your FEARS program.
Dr. Cypers took this program and in working with colleagues like Aaron Ragon, began to create a more robust program to be delivered in different setting with the notion that for a program to be most successful, all people need to be using the same playbook. This lead to the large school based program here today.
OUR TEAM
Scott Cypers, Ph.D.
Role: Founder
· BA in Psychology/Philosophy from Emory University, Spanish Minor
· MS/Ph.D. Counseling Psychology from University of Southern California
· Internship: UCLA Student Psychological Services
· Postdoctoral Training: Monsour Counseling Center, Claremont University Consortium
Scott Cypers, Ph.D., is the founder of Anxiety Force. Currently, Dr. Cypers is stationed overseas supporting children and families in the military. Dr. Cypers has built, refined, and expanded on his anxiety program (FACE your Fears) over the last 20 years, to the program to where it is today.
FACE your Fears has been utilized now in clinical, school, University, and private practice settings for all ages, being modified in its delivery to meet the age of level of the person seeking help (4 to 7, 7 to 12, 13 to 20, and 20 and above). The core of the program is typically designed to be a 6 week model delivered in different settings yet has been modified for also intensive outpatient versions or boot camp style of service delivery (one weekend). The program has strong success indicators in helping lower anxiety as well as depression levels and improve confidence to help people overcome any crippling anxiety condition.
Dr Cypers has worked for the past 20 years in various clinical roles including Director of Stress and Anxiety Programs at the Helen and Arthur E Johnson Depression Center at University of Colorado Anschutz Campus, Director of Anxiety and Stress Programs at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Psychologist working with active duty military at Buckley Mental Health, as well as working for many Universities in student health services in various roles.
Dr. Cypers is a proud parent of 3 children currently ages 17, 15, and 11. He enjoys all forms of sports and adventures, relishing the opportunity to challenge his anxiety wherever he is at, which is currently overseas.
Anxiety Areas Continuing to Challenge: eating seafood, meeting new people in groups, writing, and flying.
Affiliates:
Aaron Ragon
Aaron Ragon has worked in various settings related to Mental Health and education over the past 20 years. He has worked on the inpatient psychiatry unit at the Children’s Hospital in Denver, as a therapist in private practice and as a school counselor and school district administrator. He is currently a partner of student support in the Cherry Creek School District serving vulnerable and high potential students. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver teaching future school counselors. Aaron has worked with the FACE your Fears model in different capacities since 2019. His experience is that the FACE Your FEARS model is incredibly impactful in its outcome for students and he is passionate about bringing this work to as many educational settings as possible. Aaron enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. He is an avid storyteller, traveler and loves the outdoors.
Anxiety Areas Continuing to Challenge: eating raw onions and white water rafting.
Ali Schroer
Hannah Jones
Stephen Voida
Stephen Voida is an Associate Professor and founding faculty member in the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Voida directs the Too Much Information (TMI) research group at CU, where he and his multidisciplinary team of students conduct research in personal health informatics—interactive technologies that support physical, mental, and professional wellness, including the FACE Your Fears website and the associated Anxiety Shredder mobile app. Dr. Voida’s research has been recognized with diversity and inclusion awards, best paper awards, and best paper nominations at several of the top conferences in his field, and his work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and Google Research. Dr. Voida earned his Ph.D and M.S. degrees in Computer Science and Human–Computer Interaction, respectively, from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his B.S. in Computer Science from Arizona State University. More information can be found on his website, https://stephen.voida.com