Psychiatric services for an adopted 11yo with diagnosed trauma
hi,
my son is 11 and we are looking for a new psychiatrist, preferably in East Bay, but honestly....we will go wherever is necessary for quality help. He is adopted and had early life trauma and has been diagnosed with PTSD and RAD....but he also has a load of potential. We need someone who understands this background.
Thanks for any any help in advance!
Feb 26, 2019
Parent Replies
I would recommend Sveta Laleva. Not a psychiatrist, but an MFT w/ trauma training who is really great w/ kids (she's my 11-year-old son's therapist and he makes sure to remind us when his appointments are because he loves them).
http://www.lindseyantin.com/about-us/tsveta/
Does your insurance allow you to go to Children's Hospital in Oakland? They have the Center for the Vulnerable Child on Claremont Ave. This is where my son (also joined our family by adoption) gets his psychiatric care, and it seems to be high quality.
The top psychologist for adopted kids in the East Bay is Virginia Keeler Wolf, Her whole practice is based on adopted kids and the issues they face. Her number is 510-339-9363
For parent and family support I recommend the Attachment-Trauma Network, attachmenttraumanetwork.org. It is quite a struggle finding services, especially with education. We have used a combination of therapeutic parenting, diadic therapy in our home, homeschooling, Neurological Reorganization, OT, nutrition. My adopted girl is 11 and has come a long way. I have not had success with psychiatry so I'm sorry not to have the referral you seek. Trauma services are growing! I'm sending so much support!
If you look through the archives, you'll see many recommendations for Virginia Keeler-Wolf. We were in a similar situation and tried her out. It was not a good fit. Our child did not connect with her at all. She was way too similar to his teachers. I also thought that she talked about things in front of him that were very inappropriate (how terrible his teacher was, how badly he was being bullied). She attended an IEP meeting with us and I really regretted that decision. It took a long time for me to calm the team back down and get them to be willing to work with us.
We switched to Talia Kurland at Clearwater Clinic and couldn't be happier. She's enthusiastic and my son looks forward to his sessions with her. She met with us without our son frequently to make sure that we were all working towards the same goals. She never said anything inappropriate in front of our son. She is young but really knows what she's doing.