Anxiety & OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor

We are excited to announce that we will be having Dr. Kelly Hilton joining our practice this summer! Read more to learn about Dr. Hilton!

We are hiring for a new administrative assistant to add to our team! Please follow the Indeed link below to submit your application and review the full job responsibilities.

https://www.indeed.com/job/administrative-assistantreception-b89d0e336de0f9de

We are having another contamination camp this summer! We are looking for fear facers who want to tackle their fears of dirty/germs/contamination! If that's you, let us know by reaching out to our office!

We are making final calls for our upcoming Intrusive Thoughts seminar! We are here to help! Reach out to the email at the bottom of the flyer to get registered!

Dates have been announced for the first Habit Reversal for Body Focused Repetitive Behavior group of 2024! If you suffer from repetitive skin or hair picking, this class is perfect for you! Reach out with any questions

Don't forget to register for our upcoming class if you deal with repetitive behaviors such as skin picking or trichotillomania! Reach out to sign up before November 15th!

Mindful Moment PSBH is registering for two free community support groups for anyone being impacted by the crisis int he Middle East. They hope to create a safe space for anyone being affected in the community to express themselves, but more importantly to know that you are not alone.

Looking to try and understand your loved one's OCD better? This class may be perfect for you!

This is a four week course for family members or support persons to provide education on how OCD/Anxiety disorders work, treatments, and the impact family accommodation can have on patient progress. Contact us at [email protected] for more information!

We are registering now for our Exposure and Response Prevention Education Class coming up on Thursday, September 28th!

Learn more about OCD, anxiety disorders, and the evidence-based treatment of them right from your own home with this $40 virtual class.

Please review the flyer for more information and don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions to [email protected]

We are hiring for our Administrative Assistant position starting July 17th! This is a part-time job (25-30 hours per week) that includes the following responsibilities;

-Answering phone calls/returning calls
-Responding to client/staff emails
-Assisting with maintaining prospective client waitlist
-Ordering and stocking supplies
-Assisting clients with questions/payments, posting those payments in EMR
-General office pick up
-Creating forms and documents as requested by staff
-Scanning/uploading documents to EMR
-Taking inventory of supplies and clinic forms
-Tracking various records
-Fulfilling medical record requests
-Attending weekly meetings
-Registering and advertising classes/groups run by clinic
-Running application process for sliding scale program
-Getting mail
-Stocking restrooms and front office
-Checking dropbox
-Maintain website
-Updating license and insurance
-Clinical support with patients as needed
-Collecting resources for treatment

If you are interested in this position, please email a resume and cover letter to [email protected] .

PLEASE READ

When we opened our clinic, our overarching goal was to increase access to evidence-based anxiety and OCD treatment in the Ann Arbor area and across the state of Michigan. As you are aware, very few behavioral health providers have expertise in the treatment of OCD and severe anxiety disorders. Over the last nine years, our clinic has grown to include over a dozen skilled specialists, has become a highly regarded training site for emerging therapists, frequently called upon to do speaking engagements and trainings, and regularly receives referrals and treatment requests from doctors, hospitals and prospective clients both nationally and internationally. Two of the unique characteristics of our clinic in comparison to other anxiety and OCD specialty centers across the nation is that 1) we made the decision to panel with insurance companies in order to increase access to care which is not typical of specialty centers not under a non-profit hospital system, and 2) we offer Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) through an intensive intervention outpatient treatment program. Intensive treatment is a way to target anxiety/OCD more aggressively and quickly and has been a very successful model for treating severe symptoms. The structure of the intensive intervention is highly individualized based on the clinical needs of each client - whether that be just an additional hour or two of treatment in a day, a full six hour day, or five consecutive days of 5-6 hours of intervention (as is often needed in school refusal or severe OCD). We have gotten feedback from clients who have received intensive intervention that this service has saved clients years in therapy, has been an overall cost savings due to less time spent in treatment, has prevented them from having to go to a residential facility or inpatient unit, and has given them hope when they previously had none.

We have worked tirelessly with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network over the past several years in order to create/identify codes that have allowed this more intensive treatment to be covered by insurance. The ability to bill insurance for these services has made them more accessible to a much larger portion of our client population. Unfortunately, we are now facing a serious problem in our ability to be able to continue to offer intensive intervention to our clients.

On January 1, 2023, the American Medical Association (AMA) discontinued the codes needed to bill prolonged or intensive treatment (99354/99355) with no replacement or alternative codes prepared. This left our clinic without the ability to bill insurance for prolonged or intensive treatment. Because approximately 90% of the people we treat have Blue Cross or Blue Care Network insurance, this affects a majority of our clients and others who seek our services.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan/Blue Care Network has responded to this sudden coding change within the AMA by identifying a temporary code to be used for Michigan based plans in the short term. Unfortunately, this new code comes with 40% pay reduction for providers. In comparison with a traditional one hour session, intensive intervention requires significantly more time to prepare for sessions, the sessions themselves are more physically and emotionally demanding, there is an increased need for collaboration with others (schools, family members, other providers), more time is spent documenting interventions, and providers are often on call to support clients throughout the duration of the intensive. Essentially, asking our providers to provide these highly specialized, highly demanding interventions for a 40% pay cut is both unfair and unsustainable. Additionally, there would still be no solution for clients with out of state Blue Cross plans who do not fall under this temporary code.

Our clinicians have provided intensive intervention as a way to treat people with severe symptoms more quickly and as a way to try to keep up with the extreme demand for services from people who are desperate for relief from their anxiety and OCD. Many of the people we have served through intensives have spent years trying other options and intensive intervention has been the only treatment that has been successful. Unfortunately, the decision by the AMA to eliminate the intensive codes and the decision by BCBS/BCN to reduce the reimbursement for these services by 40% has made it impossible for our clinic to continue providing intensive intervention at this time.

Many clients have asked for ways they can advocate for change in coding to improve access to intensive exposure-based therapies on an outpatient basis. We are including a script that can be used to contact any or all of the organizations listed below.

Hi, my name is ______________ and I’m calling about the urgent need for the AMA to provide alternative billing codes to replace the 99354/99355 codes that were removed January 1, 2023. As a result of this removal of billing codes, my therapist is no longer able to provide intensive outpatient exposure-based therapy for severe anxiety and OCD. The Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor is the only outpatient facility offering multiple hours of exposure-based interventions in the state of Michigan. Without these billing codes, they are no longer able to provide these services, without accepting a 40% reduction in payment for their clinical time. As a result, I am being given recommendations to seek these intensive services in out of state residential OCD/severe anxiety programs. I am urging ________ (person of contact i.e Representative Debbie Dingell ) to advocate for their constituents/ members with the AMA and BCBS/BCN to address this billing code shift that is impairing access to evidence-based mental health care in Michigan. We are in a mental health crisis that can only be improved with increased access to care and this unilateral change of billing codes by the AMA has created a direct barrier to effective treatment. Please tell _______that I urge them to act today to provide alternative billing codes to replace the 99354/99355 codes which will allow specialty clinics to provide evidence-based treatment, at the previously provided reimbursement rates, without forcing patients in crisis to seek residential treatment . Your advocacy is critical to improve affordable, effective mental health care treatment during this unprecedented mental healthcare crisis. As someone who cares about mental health care and the impact that this lack of treatment causes to increase life-long disability, I implore you to address this critical issue for which only the AMA and BCBS can correct. Please let residents of Michigan/ members of BCBS recognize that you are in support of removing this bureaucracy based barrier to mental health care immediately!

Thank you for being an advocate!

We are working to get the 99354/99355 codes reinstated and need your help.

Contact the AMA at [email protected]
Contact Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan at (517) 975-8500
Contact Senator Gary Peters at 124 West Allegan Street, Suite 1400, Lansing, MI 48933 Phone: (517) 377-1508, https://www.peters.senate.gov/contact/email-gary
Contact Senator Debbie Stabenow at https://www.stabenow.senate.gov/contact or 719 Griswold St., Suite 700, Detroit, MI 48226, Phone: (313) 961-4330
Contact Representative Debbie Dingell at 2006 Hogback Road, Suite 7, Ann Arbor, 48105, Phone: (734) 481-1100 https://debbiedingell.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep/?zip5=48103&zip4=

Sincerely,
Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor

Write Your Rep | Congresswoman Debbie Dingell

We are raising money for IOCDF's One Million Steps for OCD Walk!

The One Million Steps for OCD Walk is a community engagement event that allows individuals across the country to connect, share stories, create impact, and show those struggling on their road to recovery that they are not alone. In addition, the OCD Walk is an opportunity to raise funds and awareness of what it really means to have OCD.

Donating helps fund research and advocacy efforts for the life saving, evidence based treatment we provide at the clinic. Plus, if you donate $25 or more, you get a T-Shirt shipped to you for free! To donate, please go to this link:

Check out Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor's team fundraising page for International OCD Foundation Walking for evidence-based treatment for, and psychoeducation on, OCD

What is OCD anyway? Here’s a brief overview with information from - an amazing resource for all things OCD! Here at the Anxiety & OCD Center of Ann Arbor we strive to provide high quality care for those with OCD as well as anxiety!

Join in Denver, Colorado on July 8th-10th for the 27th Annual OCD Conference, a three day weekend event for individuals and families living with OCD, mental health professionals, and researchers to educate and empower the community— as they learn about the latest treatments, research, and practices in OCD and related disorders.

Get details and register at iocdf.org/ocdcon

Please take 20 minutes to watch this powerful documentary on SPACE. Our clinicians are trained in SPACE, and we run a SPACE group for family members bi-annually!

Breaking Free of Anxiety - A Journey Through SPACE Moving documentary film about a teenage girl coping with anxiety and her mother's determination to help her overcome it

If you have a child age with symptoms and has one grandparent who identifies as Latino/Hispanic and would like to participate in our study, please contact them and share! Contact: [email protected]

Our clinic has created a group for the International OCD Foundation's One Million Steps for OCD Walk. The One Million Steps for OCD Walk is a chance for the OCD and related disorders community to fight stigma, raise awareness, and educate others about what it really means to have OCD. Importantly, it’s also an opportunity to raise funds to support the important work of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and its nationwide Affiliates. Our goal is for our clinic to raise $1000 dollars for this great organization. If you are interested in donating, follow the link below to our clinic's donation page:

https://support.iocdf.org/team/421155

Check out Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor's team fundraising page for International OCD Foundation Advocating for awareness, education and evidence-based treatment of OCD 

International OCD Foundation on Twitter “As we celebrate and we want to thank all of our community members for helping to support each other, advocate, and end stigma for OCD and all mental health disorders. Look at the impact we have already had! https://t.co/tOurIzXSZd ”

Join Laura Lokers and other specialists for a discussion on gender identity obsessions in OCD on Facebook and Youtube with the International OCD Foundation on Wednesday September 22, 2021 at noon!

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays from the IOCDF Advocates! We know the holidays can be a tough time, especially for those affected by OCD and related disorders. Our IOCDF Advocates want you to know that we're here fo...

We hope you are hanging in there and tolerating the uncertainty of these trying times.

The IOCDF and members of the OCD community are advocating for increased access to telehealth services and support for mental health workers.

Please take a look and consider writing to your representatives.

Stay well!

Virtual Voices for Mental Health: An Online Day of Action! | IOCDF More and more people are receiving mental health treatment via telehealth, especially during the pandemic. If passed, our priority telehealth bills will ensure greater access to mental health treatment via telehealth, including for those living in rural areas where there are currently few mental hea...

We are so proud of our colleague Lisa O’Donnell for being nominated for full-time professor for teaching and service at Wayne State! Congrats on being an amazing clinician and professor!

Wayne State School of Social Work announces its 2020 teaching and service award recipients For over 85 years the Wayne State University School of Social Work has been committed to quality teaching and community engagement that encourages cultural humility, benefits the community and pays attention to social, economic and environmental justice. In support of this mission, we annually call....

As an update we continue to stay fully closed to all face to face client sessions and ONLY see people through telemedicine. We are taking these measures based upon advice from medical professionals to engage in social isolation, in order to protect people who are vulnerable in our communities and lessen the impact COVID-19 is having on our healthcare system. Your clinician will be contacting you directly about HIPAA compliant ways to continue sessions via telemedicine. As a clinic, we will be following these guidelines for at least through April 13th per the governor's orders, and will keep you posted after that if the closure needs to be extended.

We are deciding at this point in time to fully close the clinic to all clients and ONLY see people through telemedicine. We are taking these measures based upon advise from medical professionals to engage in social isolation, in order to protect people who are vulnerable in our communities and lessen the impact COVID-19 is having on our healthcare system. Your clinician will be contacting you directly about HIPAA compliant ways to continue sessions via telemedicine. As a clinic, we will be following these guidelines for at least the next two weeks, and will keep you posted after that if the closure needs to be extended.

This is a great article in the context of increasing anxiety and OCD fears around the recent coronavirus concerns. Be reasonable but still don’t let fear run your life!!

How to Deal With Coronavirus If You Have OCD or Anxiety Coronavirus news stories and prevention guidelines can trigger bouts of intense anxiety and compulsive behavior.

The Anxiety and OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor is seeking applicants with a degree in clinical, counseling, or school psychology for a Postdoctoral Fellowship program. We are an evidence-based group practice in southeast Michigan that sees clients with anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. Fellows will have the opportunity to work with patients across the lifespan and receive specialized training in Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD as well as CBT for anxiety disorders. Salary is based on percentage of revenue from clients seen. Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to [email protected]. The one year fellowship starts in September 2020.

Metro Parent Magazine

Check out Laura Lokers' interview in Metro Parent Magazine!

Does your child pick their skin or pull their hair? It could be a sign of a mental health condition. Laura Lokers, an expert with Anxiety & OCD Treatment Center of Ann Arbor, explains.

How To Help A Child Struggling With Anxiety

npr.org When a child is scared of the dark or being left alone, it can be hard for adults to know the difference between an age-appropriate fear and full-blown anxiety. This episode is full of tools to help parents better understand and manage their child's "worry brain."

Register now for our upcoming social anxiety group for adolescents!