New to Kaiser - 12YO daughter's anxiety

Hello! We recently used Kaiser for our son's anxiety issues. We got a referral to the Mental Health department through his pediatrician. I don't think that you need to have a long relationship with a pediatrician to get the referral. My son met with a psychologist but because he is only 7, it was difficult for him to talk about his feelings even though I felt the psychologist was doing a great job with him. We followed her recommendation and had him attend their 5 week "Unwind" class (a more kid-friendly name than "anti-anxiety) and it was helpful. We will now see how he does; if things go well, that's great, but if not the next step will be to discuss the possibility of medication.

We currently go to the Mental Health department in Pleasanton. However, we have also worked with the department in Oakland and were pleased with our care. Good luck!

YHello, I recommend Dr. Sue Minger at the Alameda medical offices.  She is soft spoken, but always approachable, andyou speaks directly to my 13 YO son about his health and concerns.  She also asks if Mom should leave the room if there's anything he wants to discuss without me there (and I'm OK with that).  Go online and make an appointment with her or call the Member Services number on the back of your card if KP.org will not let you do so (it can be squirrelly).  Inform them you're new to KP and want to book with Dr. Minger. FYI, that's one of my least favorite things about Kaiser:  you have to be assertive and direct them rather than the other way around.

As far as mental health, yeah, they are rather understaffed.  I recommend Ed Spolarich in juvenile behavioral health, which (unfortunately) is in Oakland.  He helped my son through some really rough times in school.  Because they are understaffed, one generally gets one appointment every three weeks or per month, unless, again, you're the squeaky wheel.

Another alternative to consider to individual counseling are the group sessions that KP offers at the Oakland behavioral health site.  We've successfully used them for general information sharing, coping strategies and social skills building.  We also met a social worker that we worked with as part of the classes named Adrian Rivera who was very good at getting to root causes of issues, and would have an individual session with a parent and/or child if he felt it would help.

So, bottom line, behavioral health at Kaiser is crowded, but if you are assertive and insist on services, their social workers and counselors are responsive and caring.  I think it's just a matter of getting a toe hold into the system.

Yes, in the past they had an inadequate number of clinicians. But they've upped their staff (it will still take 3 to 4 wks to get a first appt so call soon. I go to Oakland and have been pleasantly surprised by the effectivess of my treatment. (I am a trained LMFT.)
A friend's teen is seen weekly so I know that's possible if needed. Non Kaiser clins can run $130 +. Hang in there

The mental health part of Kaiser is somewhat separate from the rest- you do not need a referral from a pediatrician, the intake is directly through child and family psychiatry (Google that for the number). The only locations in the East Bay are Oakland or Richmond, so Alameda and Dan Leandro are not possible. Give them a call during their regular hours and they'll take your name and number and have an intake person call you "within 24 hours" to get more information (we went through this in October... It took them 4 days to call me back). Kaiser has been sued in the past, multiple times apparently, so their system is a combination of a reaction to that and their normal standardized set of treatments. From what I hear (not my personal experience in the mental health department), their first step is the same as in their medical areas: first you take a class or series of classes, then if you want to continue on, you may get individual sessions. So your daughter would probably start in their next available anxiety/depression class, then after 6 weeks or so of that, could see a therapist or doctor. The other possibility (probably a result of the lawsuits) is if your child is a danger to herself/others, but then your option is to go to the ER and a member of the child psych team will evaluate to see if they need to do an involuntary 72 hour hold. If your child is not in immediate danger and is safe to send home but does need serious help, at that point you may be able to make an appointment to see a doctor individually without jumping through the classes hoop.

Personally, we opted to pay out of pocket for private therapy rather than subject our child to that red tape, but we were just seeking counseling, not medication. If we were considering medication, we'd have to jump through one of those 2 hoops first. Since you said you want to explore options, looking into the classes may be a right and good step for you to take.

Hi - Try Dr. Phoung as a pediatrician (san Leandro). We had her for a very short time but liked her. She was the in between pedi when our pedi from birth transferred and after meeting her a couple of times our kids wanted to go to the "teen"dr (they were 14-15) and didn't like sitting in the waiting room with little kids).  You just need a referral to mental health from whomever you choose for her pedi.  The pedi's at Kaiser do not get invovled much in mental health. Once you get a referral,if you can make it to Union City, I recommend it.  They have great therapists, children psychiatrists and classes to Learn methods on how to lessen anxiety,etc.  They also have support classes for parents.  If you go with a thetapist request one who sees mainly pre teens and teens.  Ask your daughter whether she likes her therapist and if not ask to meet with another one.  Good luck

Some info you may not have heard (your doctor either, unfortunately...).  If you daughter snores, is a mouth breather, or grinds her teeth - she is probably experiencing apnea, which will cause anxiety as well as other negative effects on her whole system (just as it does at any age).  Tongue tie can cause her to do any of the three, as well as cause other issues.  http://www.mouthmattersbook.com/mouth-matters-book/excerpts/chapter-12/   http://doctorstevenpark.com/sleep-apnea-is-a-craniofacial-problem.  She may have nutritional deficiencies (D, Bs, iodine, magnesium, etc) and/or an MTHFR mutation (easy blood test or 23nMe) which have been linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, bi-polar, and more.   Kaiser may be able to help, or not.  A functional medicine doctor can.  So often these days young girls/teens are being given birth control pills when there are better and more natural ways to deal with menstrual difficulties.  And it is looking like many of those who do not have regular periods for at least two years are not developing enough glandular breast tissue to breastfeed.  Not always obvious, because they can develop breasts - but w fatty tissue, not glandular tissue.  

If you have Kaiser coverage through UC Berkeley you also have a "carve out" benefit included with Optum providers. Contact the UC Berkeley benefits department or call Optum directly 1(888)440-8225. The website is https://liveandworkwell.com/public/