Ellen I. Koch

A photo of Ellen Koch

Professor, Associate Dean for Budgets and Facilities for the College of Arts & Sciences

Psychology

341C Mark Jefferson Science Complex

734.487.0189

[email protected]

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship in Anxiety Disorders, University of Michigan Health System, 2001–2003
  • Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University, 2001
  • MA, Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University, 1998
  • BA, Western Michigan University, 1992

Interests and Expertise

Dr. Koch earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Western Michigan University in 2001. Her dissertation project compared behavioral and cognitive-behavioral one-session exposure treatments for small animal phobias (Koch, Spates, & Himle, 2004). Dr. Koch completed her pre-doctoral internship at the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System in Biloxi, MS including the following rotations: inpatient psychiatry, PTSD clinic, women's clinic, research, administration, primary care, ER triage, long-term therapy, and neuropsychological assessment. Prior to joining the faculty at EMU, she completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan Medicine specializing in behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatment for adult anxiety disorders. Additionally, she received advanced training in behavioral medicine and PTSD treatment for veterans. During her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Koch initiated a treatment outcome study for Acute Stress Disorder to prevent the development of PTSD. Dr. Koch is a fully licensed clinical psychologist in Michigan.

Along with her doctoral students, Dr. Koch has a treatment outcome study running utilizing augmented reality treatment for specific phobias (snakes and spiders). Students have also completed recent projects involving behavioral challenges and heart rate reactivity in individuals with elevated or normal rates of anxiety sensitivity, negative affectivity and cortisol in individuals with PTSD, rates of attrition across empirically supported treatments for PTSD, and a factor analysis of the DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. Previous projects include the relationship between anxiety sensitivity, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and chronic worry; relationship between anxiety sensitivity and suicidal ideation in veterans from a VA PTSD Clinic; and an intervention to reduce anxiety in recent Asian immigrant children and their parents.

Dr. Koch provides clinical supervision for doctoral students at the Community Behavioral Health Clinic. She also serves as the Department Head for Psychology.

Research Interests

  • augmented reality exposure and one-session exposure treatment for specific phobias
  • treatment outcome research
  • behavior therapy and cognitive-behavior therapy for adult anxiety disorders
  • anxiety sensitivity and its relationship to other constructs predicting psychopathology
  • secondary prevention of psychopathology resulting from elevated anxiety sensitivity
  • exposure-based treatments for PTSD as well as other anxiety disorders

Courses

  • Clinical Supervision, Community Behavioral Health Clinic
  • PSY 721 Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
  • PSY 670 Scientific and Professional Ethics
  • PSY 360 Abnormal Psychology

Publications and Presentations

Selected Publications

  • Koch, E. I. & Fernando, M. A. (2018). Specific phobia treatment in integrated care. In A. Maragakis & W. T. O’Donohue (Eds.), Principle-based stepped care and brief psychotherapy for integrated care settings. New York: Springer.
  • Koch, E. I. & Fernando, M. A. (2018). Treating panic disorder and agoraphobia in integrated care. In A. Maragakis & W. T. O’Donohue (Eds.), Principle-based stepped care and brief psychotherapy for integrated care settings. New York: Springer.
  • Porcari, C., Koch, E. I., Rauch, S. A. M., Hoodin, F., Ellison, G., & McSweeney, L. (2017). Predictors of help-seeking intentions in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans and service members. Military Medicine, 182, e1640-e1647. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-16-00105
  • Koch, E. I., Eye, B. D., Ellison, G., & Gourley, B. (2017) Targeting anxiety sensitivity to prevent the development of psychopathology. In M. Israelashvili & J. L. Romano (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of international prevention science. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316104453
  • McSweeney, L. B., Koch, E. I., Saules, K. K., & Jefferson, S. (2016). Exploratory factor analysis of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5th edition criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 204, 9-14. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000390
  • Porter, K. E., Koch, E. I., Saules, K., & Sexton, M. B. (2015). The impact of sexual assault history on perceived consequences of risky dating scenarios. Acta Psychopathologica, 1, 1-9. DOI: 10.4172/2469-6676.100004
    Porcari, C. E., Amdur, R., Koch, E. I., Richard, D. C. S., Favorite, T., Martis, B., & Liberzon, I. (2009). Assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans by videoconferencing and by face-to-face methods. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 15, 89-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1258/jtt.2008.080612
  • Spates, C. R., Koch, E. I., Pagoto, S., Cusack, K., & Waller, S. (2009). Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for adults, children and adolescents. In E. B. Foa, T. M. Keane, M. J. Friedman, & J. Cohen (Eds.). Effective Treatments for PTSD: Practice guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
  • Koch, E. I., Gloster, A. T., & Waller, S. A. (2007). Exposure treatments for panic disorder with and without agoraphobia. In D. S. Richard & D. Lauterbach (Eds.). Comprehensive Handbook of the Exposure Therapies. New York: Academic Press.
  • Koch, E. I., Spates, C. R., & Himle, J. A. (2004). Comparison of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral one-session exposure treatments for small animal phobias. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 1483-1504.