New Clients
How do I make an appointment? New clients should complete the "Screening Form" on this page. The specific form you complete depends on the client’s age (child/teen versus adult) and the type of appointment you'd like to have (therapy vs medications).
What happens after I submit the therapy or medication screening form?
- Our office manager will contact you to confirm receipt of the screen and may ask additional questions, if needed. Please check your Spam folder for an email from frontdesk@anxietyannarbor.com.
- Our clinical team will meet to review your screen, and decide if our clinic is the best fit for you, or if someone in the community will better meet your needs (in which case we'll provide referral ideas).
- If we decide our clinic is potentially a good match, we'll add you to our Evaluation Waiting List.
- Please note that wait times are generally relatively short for medication appointments. Wait times for therapy are longer as we have few providers who accept insurance. None of our psychiatry (medication) providers accept insurance at this time.
Why do you have new clients complete a screening form instead of just talking with them on the phone?
We've actually found that using the screening form streamlines the initial appointment process - it reduces back and forth phone calls with our Office Manager, and it also helps us decide if our clinic can be of use to you.
Do I fill out both the Therapy and Medication forms if I want to be seen for therapy AND medications?
NO. We want to save you time, so if you want to be seen for BOTH therapy and medication, you can complete just the "THERAPY SCREEN" and note on it that you want to be seen for medications also.
**Please note, forms cannot be returned to if saved and not completed. Please only start/complete one form. Once you click on one of the form boxes below, carefully read the instructions on how to submit the form before you begin. If information is required that you do not have enter N/A.**
Additional New Client Questions
What insurance do you accept?
We have some providers that participate with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Blue Care Network insurance and some providers that are private pay. We are not able to accept Blue Cross Complete, Medicare Plus Blue, Medicare or Medicaid insurances.
I really want to see a specific therapist at your clinic. How do I make sure this happens?
We actually strongly discourage requests for specific therapists. We've found it ends up significantly increasing your wait time for appointments, and probably isn't to your benefit to wait that long, because all of our clinicians are highly trained specialists in treatment of anxiety disorders and OCD. We're confident that no matter who you see at our clinic, they will have the expertise to help you, because all of our staff have the same highly specialized training in treating anxiety disorders and OCD.
Thanks, but I still really want to see the specific therapist who was recommended to me. How do I schedule an appointment with that therapist? Please note your provider preference on your screening form. Please do not contact individual providers directly - it creates confusion in our new client process. Rest assured if you request a specific therapist, our Office Manager will keep a close eye on your request!
Thanks, but I still really want to see the specific therapist who was recommended to me. How do I schedule an appointment with that therapist? Please note your provider preference on your screening form. Please do not contact individual providers directly - it creates confusion in our new client process. Rest assured if you request a specific therapist, our Office Manager will keep a close eye on your request!
I have a really bad situation right now, how do I make an emergency appointment?
Unfortunately, we are not able to quickly accommodate new clients with urgent situations. However, we are very aware of the toll anxiety disorders and OCD can take on people's lives. If you have serious impairment caused by your anxiety or OCD, please describe your situation in the screening form you complete. If you have an emergency, please call 911 or proceed to your nearest emergency room.
What happens during the therapy evaluation?
The therapy evaluation is a set of 2-4 one hour sessions. billed to insurance (if your plan is accepted by our providers) or paid out of pocket. The purpose of the evaluation is to provide a comprehensive assessment of your presenting problems and determine if treatment at our clinic will be helpful to you. We will provide recommendations for treatment of your presenting problems. At times we may decide we are not the best match for your needs, in which case we will recommend specific types of evidence-based treatment in the community. Please note that no treatment is provided during the evaluation sessions
How does the therapy evaluation actually get scheduled?
If you are on our Evaluation Waiting List, you wiill be contacted by our Office Manager when an appointment becomes available. When the evaluation appointment is scheduled, we require that a credit card be placed on file via our Evaluation Informed Consent. Your card will only be charged if you do not cancel your evaluation appointment with adequate notice as outlined in the Evaluation Agreement. This procedure increases the number of clients who provide adequate notice for cancellations, and allows us to then fill that appointment time with another potential client.
How long is the wait time for an evaluation?
There is an extremely large demand for OCD/Anxiety specialists in Michigan and the surrounding states, but not nearly enough true specialists in the field. This unfortunately extends wait times to see a therapist. It generally doesn't take as long to see a psychiatrist at our clinic. We are well aware of the scarcity of evidence-based anxiety and OCD treatment in the community. We are working very hard to try to meet the strong demand for our services. We'd strongly recommend taking the classes offered at our clinic while you wait.
Please remember that we may determine at the evaluation sessions that our clinic is not the best match for your therapy needs. We provide very specialized therapy, and not all presenting problems require - or benefit from - the therapy that we provide. In these cases, we provide recommendations for community providers who can deliver the evidence-based therapy that will best meet your needs.
Please remember that we may determine at the evaluation sessions that our clinic is not the best match for your therapy needs. We provide very specialized therapy, and not all presenting problems require - or benefit from - the therapy that we provide. In these cases, we provide recommendations for community providers who can deliver the evidence-based therapy that will best meet your needs.
How much longer will my wait be for an evening appointment?
We unfortunately only have daytime hours available for new clients.
DO I NEED TO BE IN THERAPY BEFORE I CAN SEE A PSYCHIATRist (MEDICATION MANAGEMENT) IN YOUR CLINIC?
No. You do not need to be seeing a therapist at our clinic in order to see one of our psychiatrists. However, our psychiatrists can require or recommend that you see a therapist at our clinic or in the community along with medication management .
Our foremost goal throughout this process is to ensure clients
are matched to the evidence-based treatment they need.
are matched to the evidence-based treatment they need.
