Answers to Your Questions About Anxiety & OCD Treatment

To schedule an appointment or find out more information about therapy, consultation, or other service, click here. In order to fit within a busy practice, at this time new patients must be able to meet flexibly on various weekdays/times, with sessions generally taking place Monday through Fridays 9am to 4pm and more limited after-hours options available with certain providers. If you are an existing client, please contact your provider directly to schedule or click for more information for current clients (about scheduling, billing, etc.) 

The standard session length is either 45 minutes (typically for many anxiety disorders, trichotillomania, skin excoriation, and depression) or 55 minutes (for OCD, Social Anxiety, PTSD, Parent-Child sessions, and complicated anxiety). Some clients may opt for “double sessions” of 90 minutes, which are preferable for some clients, especially those seeking more intensive treatment or certain specialized interventions. If interested, feel free to discuss these options with our team prior to or during the first appointment.

Treatment begins with a thorough initial diagnostic evaluation either with Dr. Chazin or with one of our other clinicians. The initial evaluation is meant to assess clients’ current problems, relevant history, and needs, and provides an opportunity to determine whether there is a good fit between the client and our team and the treatments we offer. Typically, the next few sessions will be devoted to getting to know each better, to clarifying clients’ diagnoses, and to collaboratively developing a shared understanding of current problems and plans for treatment. 

The content and structure of subsequent sessions will depend largely on the disorders or problems the client has decided to work on and the particular form of cognitive-behavioral or exposure-based treatment suitable for the client. Unlike many forms of therapy that are relatively unstructured, in these forms of treatment, you and your psychologist will typically work collaboratively in sessions to set an agenda and address specific problems in a targeted manner. And there will generally be a focus on helping you develop and apply new insights, skills, and strategies. For many clients, sessions may include components such as reviewing between-session practices and progress, discussing one or two problems and exploring helpful forms of thinking and action, and developing practices to complete before next session. 

If you’re curious about the variety of therapeutic approaches we employ, discover more about our treatments here. Each individual’s journey towards healing is unique, and we offer tailored therapy sessions to meet your specific needs. For a closer look at how therapy at our Center can address particular disorders, we invite you to explore our in-depth pages. Learn more about our comprehensive treatment plans for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Shy Bladder Syndrome. Our goal is to provide you with the support and tools necessary for overcoming these challenges and leading a fulfilling life

Length of treatment may vary depending on a number of factors, including the particular client, the severity and complexity of the problem areas, and the goals for treatment. Some clients experience improvements through a short course of treatment for specific problems, meaning about 12-25 weekly or twice-weekly sessions, with follow-up or “booster” sessions as needed. Other clients choose to work on problems and goals that require a longer time-commitment. While many clients in our practice make substantial progress during a relatively short time frame, for some clients more time is needed. Our team recognizes that everyone’s path is different and will work to accommodate clients’ needs. 

Oftentimes anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and traumatic-stress disorders appear in forms that are not well-covered in the popular media and are often misunderstood or misdiagnosed by health care providers. Examples include: unwanted and distressing thoughts that seem irrational yet hard to control; persistent worries about getting sick, having to use the bathroom, eating, chewing, or swallowing; fears about not making the right choices or doing the right things; and worries about “going crazy.” Oftentimes, these complex forms of anxieties may be thought of as varieties of OCD, as explained on our OCD Page. Additionally, some people who have experienced past traumas may show a pattern of anxiety and mood or behavior that may be hard for them or others to comprehend and may be a form of PTSD. 

Many individuals who suffer from these forms of anxiety, OCD, and PTSD are ashamed of their experiences and concerned that others won’t understand them and so may be reluctant to discuss them with mental health providers. 

With a rare level of understanding rooted in solid training and experience working with numerous other clients with similar problems, our psychologists can work with you to properly diagnose and better understand these problems and identify effective treatments that are likely to help you.

As psychologists, our clinicians provide behavioral treatments and do not prescribe medication. However, we are happy to work with your psychiatrist or other medication prescriber to provide you with the best care possible. In addition, if you are considering the option of starting medication, we are happy to discuss options with you and may be able to provide referrals to skilled psychiatrists and other psychopharmacology providers in the community, if appropriate. At the same time, we recognize that this can be a complex decision and that not everyone wants or needs medications, and some of our clients prefer to try cognitive-behavioral therapies without concurrent medications.

Research has shown that, when delivered by well-trained providers, cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapies tend to be more effective than other forms of psychotherapy and help a majority of adults and adolescents suffering from anxiety-related, obsessive compulsive, or post traumatic stress disorders. Research also shows that individuals who believe therapy can help them are likely to experience larger benefits, as are those who are willing to explore new perspectives and skills and who actively participate in learning inside and outside of sessions. 

With exceptionally strong skills and understanding of these disorders and treatments and a passion for helping others, our clinicians will work with you to develop a treatment plan best suited to your particular symptoms and goals. We will work with you to better understand the underpinnings of the disorders or problems you are working on, and the reasons behind any cognitive-behavioral or exposure-based treatment interventions, so that they make good sense to you.

In addition, we tend to see the best results with individuals who are motivated to make changes in their lives and are open to considering new perspectives and trying new things. We encourage clients to adopt an open-minded stance in treatment and help them to translate motivation into effective therapeutic change. If this description seems to fit you, feel free to contact us for more information or to schedule an appointment.

If you are someone who wants to overcome an anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and/or post traumatic stress disorder and make improvements in your life, who is open to consider new perspective and try new things in order to make changes, and who is willing to invest effort to practice new skills and strategies, treatment with us is likely to be an very good fit for you.

If you are not certain you would like to address problems or make changes in your life right now, if you have a schedule that does not permit you to meet once per week (at least at the beginning), or if you looking for forms of therapy that are more focused on reflection and less focused on developing new skills and strategies, treatment with us might not be the best match for you right now.

Like most highly trained specialists in the treatment of anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, and related disorders who work in the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas, we are out-of-network providers and payment is due prior to the time of a client’s appointment. But if you have a PPO insurance plan, you likely have out-of-network benefits, and many insurance plans will cover 50-80% of out-of-network costs. (On the other hand, HMO insurance plans often do not have out-of-network benefits). While the practice cannot complete insurance paperwork for you, we are happy, once a month, to provide clients with supporting information and receipts that they can submit directly to their health insurance company for reimbursement at the out-of-network rate. Please contact your insurance company prior to receiving treatment in order to find out more about their rates and policies. 

We can accept payment in Zelle (an electronic bank transfer system) and certain other electronic transfer systems. It may also be possible to pay by credit card, depending on your particular provider. Feel free to inquire for more information.

Fees are consistent with the high quality of expertise and experience in the fields of CBT and anxiety and related disorders, and are comparable to other specialist psychologists in the region. Given the focused and typically relatively short-term nature of our treatments for many problem areas, the total cost of treatment is often a fraction of what it might be in other settings, such as traditional long term psychotherapy. While we do not offer “sliding scale” or discounted therapy, we may be able to recommend other practices with student externs who are still studying toward their degree and are therefore able to charge lower fees. For further information about fees and services, please contact us. 

If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment with us, please provide as much notice as possible so that we can offer the slot to another client. Sessions cancelled or rescheduled with less than 48 hours notice will be charged a fee of $50 or charged the full session fee if cancelled or no-showed with less than 24 hours. Please note that insurance companies do not reimburse clients for late cancellation or missed appointment fees.

For information on scheduling, payments, obtaining superbills via our client portal, please see the current clients section of our website. For your convenience, you will also find information about our physical and telehealth office addresses and links to additional resources on that page.

The Center for Anxiety, OCD, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is currently looking to expand our practice to include other skilled providers and is seeking applications from qualified psychologists, social workers, counselors and other clinicians. Please click to find our more about careers with us. .