Therapist for Child with ADHD
Parent Q&A
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Therapist for Inattentive ADHD in girls
–Feb 22, 2023Looking for recommendations for therapists with experience supporting girls with inattentive ADHD. Someone in Oakland would be ideal and if you know of anyone within Kaiser, that would be phenomenal. Or if you have any tips on getting Kaiser to pay for out-of-network support, please share. Thanks so much in advance!
Feb 22, 2023Clarity Pediatrics feedback?
–Jan 1, 2023Does anyone have experience working with Clarity Pediatrics, which provides behavioral therapy for parents of kids with ADHD? We're considering working with them to help us better parent our younger elementary child who we suspect has ADHD. Would love to hear about any experiences folks have had.
Would also be curious to hear recommendations for therapists who help parents better support kids with ADHD, as well as the broader family system. My partner and I are in need of a serious parenting reboot and would like to work with someone on an ongoing basis.
Jan 1, 2023No responses received.
We are looking for a therapist who can help our son with his difficulty forming and maintaining social connections with his peers.
Our 8yr old son was diagnosed with ADHD during kindergarten and is now in the 3rd grade. Since then he has had virtual therapy as well as in-person group OT. He has not had therapy since he summer when his therapist stopped seeing patients after having a child.
his inability to fit in with peers (and their subsequent treatment of him) has contributed to developing a negative self-image and some counter-productive coping mechanisms that reinforce his experience of ‘nobody wants to play with me.’ however should add that he is also dealing with a recent move and fresh separation of his parents.
He is in a very supportive school with a team of teachers and staff in communication with us and helping to support him in various ways. While in-the-moment guidance is helpful, there are understandable limits to the time and attention dedicated to these efforts by the school. Likewise, while his weekly group OT therapy sessions have been productive, they lack the effectiveness that individualized and more comprehensive one-on-one sessions could provide.
We are currently traveling to Concord for his weekly OT, which is a bit disruptive schedule-wise. Our preference is to find somebody in the Berkeley/Oakland area, but the Orinda/Lafayette/Walnut creek area is not out of the question.
On a related but non-contributing note, I have to say it is incredibly heart aching to see my son endure this. The fact that I had and weathered very similar experiences as a child and young adult certainly helps me to relate with him and provide helpful perspective and advice, however it also brings heightened awareness of his suffering and disparaging outlook - especially when I know him to be such a bright, sensitive, and caring human.
Nov 2, 2022ADHD therapist for 9 year old boy
–Apr 21, 2022Hello BPN community - I am looking for a recommendation for a therapist for our 9 year old with ADHD, preferably in Berkeley, Albany, Oakland, or Richmond. It has taken months for Kaiser to agree to help cover therapy expenses, and of course the person we originally found to help our family, is now booked. As are many others we have tried. Does anyone know of a therapist who is willing to do in person sessions? Our son's ADHD issues include anger management problems, impulsiveness, and low tolerance for frustration. He is taking medication and it is helpful with school issues, but we need more support. Thanks- nb
Apr 21, 2022Therapist for Tween
–Mar 8, 2022I'm looking for an experienced therapist for my 12 year old son who has some ADHD/OCD/ASD like behaviors. Looking for someone on Beacon Health.
Mar 8, 2022Psychiatrist for 11 year old with ADHD and meltdowns
–Jan 5, 2022Hello BPN Family,
We seek a psychiatrist for our 11-year-old with ADHD and social issues. Our child tends to bottle up what is bothering them and then has severe meltdowns at home as a result. Most of the meltdowns are because of social issues. We constantly communicate with their teachers, so the anxiety is not related to typical ADHD-related problems like time management or stress over school assignments. As we enter the teen years, we want to cover all our bases. We prefer talk therapy with strategies over art therapy.
Jan 5, 2022Therapist for 10 YO Girl w/ ADHD
–Apr 20, 2021We're seeking a therapist for my 9 year old daughter (soon to be 10 in June) with ADHD. Although she is medicated, she still struggles with anger management, impulse control and emotional regulation. We had planned to seek family therapy, but then shelter in place started and then kept going. During the pandemic things have gotten worse and her behavior has deteriorated along with her emotional state. She lies, stays up late into the night and prowls around for sweets after everyone has gone to bed and then lies about it (some more). She'll have two hour crying sessions because we wouldn't let her watch TV till she finished her homework. Any leads on a therapist would be welcome.
Apr 20, 2021Child Psychologist with ADHD experience
–Sep 13, 2019I am looking for recommendation for a child psychologist with ADHD experience. Would prefer a female and in the East Bay. I have looked and contacted many and all seem to be full. Thank you in advance.
Sep 13, 2019Looking for a psychologist with ADHD speciality
–Jul 26, 2016We are looking for a psychologist for a six year old girl who may have ADHD. We'd like to find someone who works well with children and is very knowledgeable about ADHD. It would be great if he/she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has some experience working with bright children. We can get to appointments in Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek.
Jul 26, 2016
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Psychologist for negative child with ADHD
March 2013
I have a grade school child who was diagnosed with ADHD. However almost everything out of his mouth is doom and gloom. He seems to always tell me the negative side. I have tried asking what are some positive things and he wants no part of it. His life is good, family, friends and doing well in school and sports. However he seems unhappy. Does anyone know of a child psychologist that works with ADHD children? Thank you for reading. Worried Mom Anon
Kent Grelling is a wonderful psychologist who works with kids and adolescents. He is in Orinda. Been There
Dr. Ellena Chen is based in Lafayette (downtown) and is in private practice, so not ideal for you. However, she is super experienced with girls w/this profile. My kid (12, inattentive ADHD, anxiety, gifted) has been working with her for a year now. Ellena is smart, intense, engaged, and super helpful w/ parent consults as well. She is sometimes able to provide a little bit of sliding scale, but her prices are otherwise typical for Bay Area psychologists. She shared with me that some of her clients have been successful getting partial coverage from Kaiser (we haven't tried yet but plan to). She said to start with your pediatrician. It seems like this is especially true in more acute cases, and possibly ones where the kiddo is 2e and you can prove you need her specialization in that population, which is our hope. However, they are probably more likely to outsource and pay for difficult/acute cases than simpler/less critical ones. And they might be more likely if there's already an established therapeutic relationship (?)
I can't say for sure, and maybe it depends on your advocacy, but my understanding in interactions with them is that Kaiser will not provide therapy for ADHD (which is ridiculous, of course, since it has global impacts on one's life and is not some sort of "school problem"!). However, if you have another diagnosis such as anxiety, they will--with the caveat that access to regular-enough therapy and finding someone your kid fits with is more dubious/difficult because mental health is famously such a weak suit for Kaiser. Maybe, with strong advocacy and an emphasis on the non-scholastic impacts of ADHD, they will be more responsive than just offering a class and some parent handouts... I hope others who have actually been through it will have more advice for you! Good luck:)