Mental Health Care in Ann Arbor, MI

Anxiety and depression are conditions that can significantly affect your overall sense of health and well-being. While these conditions are not the same thing, they often go hand in hand, as their symptoms and treatments frequently overlap. Around 50% of people who have depression also suffer from anxiety.

They can both have symptoms like:

• Excessive worry
• Chronic fatigue
• Sleep disturbances
• Concentration problems
• Lack of interest in normal activities
• Changes in mood and behavior

Anxiety, when you fret or worry about the future or present, is a normal part of a healthy life. It could indicate a more serious condition when this is an ongoing state, and your worry becomes constant and consuming on a daily basis. Anxiety often causes you to feel keyed up, panicked, and restless.

Depression may be a more serious state of anxiety and cause you to feel an overall sense of hopelessness and futility. For those with major depression, you may feel listless, apathetic, and suicidal.

Learn about the role of neurotransmitters on brain chemistry and mood disorders.

A thorough health history, complete physical exam, and extensive diagnostic testing are needed to understand the underlying causes of your anxiety and depression.

Specialized tests to identify underlying causes include:

• Neurotransmitter analysis
• Amino acid analysis
• Hormone levels
• Nutritional assessment
• Neurochemistry levels
• Toxicity and oxidative stress analysis
• Genetic testing
• In-home sleep diagnosticsEffective treatment for anxiety and depression includes a thorough understanding of underlying causes and a resolution of imbalances in your system.

Conventional treatment for anxiety and depression often stops at antidepressant medications. At Natural Balance Wellness Medical Center, your treatment plan goes much deeper and focuses on natural methods for treatment, including:

Our comprehensive Precision Medicine and functional medicine programs

Emotional release techniques

Emotional release therapy uses acupuncture and visual imagery to train the body to emotionally release negative and traumatizing events and to better manage blocked emotions. Learn more about emotional healing.

Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback using Cereset® technology helps you train your brain to return to a calm state of mind and reduce signs of anxiety and depression. This is also effective for treating post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and insomnia.

Other natural methods that help to improve the underlying causes of your anxiety and depression are amino acid therapy, Walsh protocols, hormone replacement therapy, GAPS™ dietary consultations, nutritional counseling, and lifestyle coaching.

New Patient Phone Consultation (20 min)

Call our office to schedule a 20-minute meet and greet consultation with one of our doctors. The purpose of this meeting is hear your story initially and briefly tell you how we approach mood and memory problems and neurochemical rehab from a functional medicine perspective.

Once you decide to proceed with the program, charges for this initial phone meeting with one of our doctors will be credited toward your in-person history and physical exam visit described below.

In-person History & Physical Exam (60 min)

The purpose of this face-to-face visit is to officially establish the doctor-patient relationship, undergo a complete history and physical exam, and to decide what testing is needed.

Typical testing for this program might include:

• HPA (adrenal) profile with neurotransmitters:This test looks at both adrenal function and neurotransmitter levels through saliva and urine testing. Adrenal function and neurotransmitters are very closely connected in their physiology, so it is important to test both to understand your complete picture.
• Urine nutritional metabolites and organic acids: This test is a urine sample that looks at metabolites of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and neurotransmitters. Many basic nutritional deficiencies can lead to mood and memory problems. Therefore, correcting such imbalances first can allow for greater success when initiating neurochemical rehab protocols.
• HIRREM (optional):Imbalances in the nervous system can present with sleep disturbance as well. HIRREM evaluates the balance between the right and left side of your brain, i.e., balance between your parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. This modality is both a screening as well as therapeutic tool to help bring you back into balance. For more information regarding HIRREM, please visit our page here.
• Comprehensive blood testing:If you have already had recent blood work, we will review what you have already. Important blood work for evaluating neurotransmitter function includes CBC, CMP, cholesterol, thyroid function studies, B12, folate, and iron studies.

If something concerning is flagged on these initial tests or during our initial discussion, we may need to order additional testing.

Lab Review (40-60 min)

After all your testing is complete, we will discuss the findings and put together your treatment plan which might include nutritional supplements, amino acid therapy, neurofeedback, sleep hygiene, dietary, lifestyle, emotional support, and/or other holistic interventions.

Follow-up appointments (20 min)

While you work with our clinic, you will have an appointment approximately every 4 weeks initially for the first 4-5 months while we proceed through the steps of nutritional and neurochemical rehabilitation.

This is for your safety and to ensure that you are tolerating all of the supplements and for us to provide guidance and coaching. Of course if you need to see us anytime sooner than your scheduled appointment, you may always schedule to see us. We are here for you!

After you are on all the supplements, we give your body time to repair. At this time, we do not require follow-up, but should any concerns or issues come up, we are always here for you and want to see you.

Discharge appointments (20-30 min)

Once we have successfully rehabilitated your neurotransmitters, you will be taken off supplements and amino acid therapy in a structured manner. Upon discharge we will provide longer-term discharge instructions which include dietary and lifestyle modifications and periodic supplementation protocols if indicated.

Most patients take at least 12-16 months to properly rehabilitate their neurotransmitters. It does take time, but we want to make sure we do it right so that you sustain all of the improvements you make with our clinic!

Call our office to schedule a 20-minute meet and greet consultation with one of our doctors. The purpose of this meeting is hear your story initially and briefly tell you how we approach mood and memory problems and neurochemical rehab from a functional medicine perspective.

Once you decide to proceed with the program, charges for this initial phone meeting with one of our doctors will be credited toward your in-person history and physical exam visit described below.

The purpose of this face-to-face visit is to officially establish the doctor-patient relationship, undergo a complete history and physical exam, and to decide what testing is needed.

Typical testing for this program might include:

• HPA (adrenal) profile with neurotransmitters:This test looks at both adrenal function and neurotransmitter levels through saliva and urine testing. Adrenal function and neurotransmitters are very closely connected in their physiology, so it is important to test both to understand your complete picture.
• Urine nutritional metabolites and organic acids: This test is a urine sample that looks at metabolites of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and neurotransmitters. Many basic nutritional deficiencies can lead to mood and memory problems. Therefore, correcting such imbalances first can allow for greater success when initiating neurochemical rehab protocols.
• HIRREM (optional):Imbalances in the nervous system can present with sleep disturbance as well. HIRREM evaluates the balance between the right and left side of your brain, i.e., balance between your parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system. This modality is both a screening as well as therapeutic tool to help bring you back into balance. For more information regarding HIRREM, please visit our page here.
• Comprehensive blood testing:If you have already had recent blood work, we will review what you have already. Important blood work for evaluating neurotransmitter function includes CBC, CMP, cholesterol, thyroid function studies, B12, folate, and iron studies.

If something concerning is flagged on these initial tests or during our initial discussion, we may need to order additional testing.

After all your testing is complete, we will discuss the findings and put together your treatment plan which might include nutritional supplements, amino acid therapy, neurofeedback, sleep hygiene, dietary, lifestyle, emotional support, and/or other holistic interventions.

While you work with our clinic, you will have an appointment approximately every 4 weeks initially for the first 4-5 months while we proceed through the steps of nutritional and neurochemical rehabilitation.
This is for your safety and to ensure that you are tolerating all of the supplements and for us to provide guidance and coaching. Of course if you need to see us anytime sooner than your scheduled appointment, you may always schedule to see us. We are here for you!
After you are on all the supplements, we give your body time to repair. At this time, we do not require follow-up, but should any concerns or issues come up, we are always here for you and want to see you.

Once we have successfully rehabilitated your neurotransmitters, you will be taken off supplements and amino acid therapy in a structured manner. Upon discharge we will provide longer-term discharge instructions which include dietary and lifestyle modifications and periodic supplementation protocols if indicated.

Most patients take at least 12-16 months to properly rehabilitate their neurotransmitters. It does take time, but we want to make sure we do it right so that you sustain all of the improvements you make with our clinic!