Therapist for 17 y.o. boy (sadness, anxiety)
Son had a psychiatric eval for depression and some anxiety (parents recently divorced, intense school schedule), but was actually not diagnosed with either. Psychiatrist recommended therapy. Any really great ones in Berkeley, El Cerrito, or other, or even better, via Zoom, taking new patients? We have Blue Shield PPO / Magellan.
Dec 13, 2021
Parent Replies
I have found - repeatedly - that's it's impossible to get the kind of mental health support through healthcare payers that we need. It's super frustrating but unless you have some fabulous PPO or supplement, you just need to pay out of pocket. If you have an HSA or similar that helps. It's not cheap but what is...? That said, my daughter has struggled with anxiety and depression for about a year and a half (probably much longer but it became acute around the start of the pandemic). We started seeing therapists (3 different ones) which didn't really move the needle. Finally one of the therapists suggested we engage a psychiatrist out of network and that has been transformative. We started working with Dr. Larry Diller in Walnut Creek (www.docdiller.com) last fall. He set up a series of meetings (combo of online and in person) - some involved our whole family and some with just our daughter. She was already on medication but he didn't push that; he was interested in lifting the hood and understanding what troubled her, examining the family dynamic, teaching us some important communication and listening skills through exercises and activities, and...ultimately finding the RIGHT medication for her. I highly recommend him and his approach.