Complaint Review: Midwest Center For Stress And Anxiety - Oak Harbor Ohio

Another pitfall of dealing with Midwest Center  for Stress.  Be very careful of what numbers you call to cancel or change stuff.  Even though the invoice may give you a customer service number,  the supplements, counceling, and tapes all have different numbers found in the small print that you must use to get to the right place.  Just another trick.  You think you have made the call to cancel, but  you haven't gotten to  everything and you will get billed.   May heaven have mercy on not only Ms. Bassett but on her legion of employees.  I know everyone needs a job but I would starve before I would treat people, especially despeerately ill peopl' like this..  

I can't say anything about the Midwest Center's billing practices for their anxiety/depression program or the nutritional supplements that they sell. I have heard a number of complaints about such practices.

But I can attest to the validity of the Anxiety/Depression program they sell. It is based on clinically proven cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and teaches CBT in a very effective manner, IMO. I purchased the program in 2000 and worked with it faithfully for some 4 years.  I was billed $60 a month for 6 months.  They allowed me to pay for the program over time without charging me any interest whatsoever. The program empowered me to reduce the anti-depression meds I was on from approximately 200mg/daily down to around 15mg to 25mg daily and I was able to go off of anti-anxiety meds completely. (I am bi-polar) I had been on the anti-anxiety meds for some 25 years. I was also able to get back into the work force for several years. I had been bed ridden and not functioning well at all. CBT is not for everyone, it is not a panacea for depression or anxiety. But it has been proven to be a very effective treatment for anxiety/panic/depression for a large number of people.

I was on the Midwest's forum for about 5 years, posting my own struggles and trying to help others with theirs. The forum is free to everyone and available to anyone who chooses to use it. That alone, in my view, is worth paying for.  My handle or ID on the forum was Don57 in case anyone wants to take a look at the some 2,000 posts I made over that period of time.

 Recently, from 2009 to 2010, for about a year, I saw a psychologist.  I like her very much and would see her again in the future.   My total cost for that therapy was about $3500 to $4000.  It didn't do me much good, not because of the psychologist, but because of me. 

To say that the Midwest Center's program is overpriced is unfair in my view.  It has the potential to increase an individual's ability to function very significantly, if not resolve their problems completely.  To only pay $400 to $600 for such help doesn't sound over priced to me at all.  What price can you put on being able to function effectively again and work again? The program itself is not a ripoff. It is based on CBT, a clinically proven form of psychotherapy.  I'd suggest you take a look at Dr David Burns' book, "Feeling Good, the New Mood Therapy". That book is also based on CBT. What is covered in it is covered in the Midwest Center's Program. Both are excellent tools to help individuals with anxiety, panic, and depression.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/740860
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/psychotherapies/index.shtml
http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-depression
http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20060705/preventing-depression-relapse
http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20020523/therapy-as-good-as-drugs-for-depression

There might be issues with the billing practices of the company, but the product is most definitely not a ripoff.  I purchased it in 2007 for my husband and son, and the program has been very, very effective at helping them address anxiety and depression issues.  The original report cites a distaste for the website layout and the emphasis on opportunities for a free trial.  Ok, so it's not to your taste.  Bottom line, the program was worth every penny (I think I paid around $300 for it) and has saved us thousands of dollars in medication and therapy.  The turnaround in both guys and the harmony created in our family has been priceless.

I used Lucinda Bassett's program and it worked. If you are dealing with anxiety and panic attacks the price of the program is worth it compared to not being able to ever figure out what is wrong with you and how to stop it without any medication. ANyone saying this program is a croc is wrong.