Cognitive Behavioral Therapist for Teen
Dear BPN, I am looking for a good CBT therapist for my 15 year-old daughter. We live in Oakland. She's struggling with generalized anxiety which has spiked over the past three months after an extended physical illness. She has missed many weeks of school and returning is a tremendous struggle. I am hoping to find a good therapist that she could get in to see soon. She needs some tools she can use to helps calm down the panic and waves of nausea that come with her spike in anxiety. Many thanks.
NOTE FROM MODERATOR: Therapists, please don't recommend yourself or a colleague. We only accept recommendations from patients (or parents of patients). See https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/faq/adv_rec. Thanks!
Mar 6, 2018
Parent Replies
My daughter had/has similar issues. She saw Heidi Ronfeldt http://www.heidironfeldtphd.com on College Ave. and she helped quite a bit. My daughter is now attending school regularly and has panic attacks every few months instead of a few per week. Heidi is easy to talk to and included me in many sessions, for part of the time, so that I could be on the same page. She also helped interface with school and spoke with the school counselor. My daughter saw her frequently for a year and now sees her for check-ins monthly or so. We did decide to have my daughter take medication a few months into the therapy and that has also made a big difference. I highly recommend Heidi. She's down to earth and my daughter felt comfortable with her right away. Sometimes she would even take her out for a walk in the neighborhood. I know how hard it is to watch your child suffer with anxiety. Wishing you calmer days ahead.
My daughter (experiencing severe anxiety) recently started working with Dr. Laura Rainville. I really like her. I feel like she is really tuned into kids/teens and can really understand things from their perspective and is relatable. She is on Alcatraz @ College Ave (just moved from Market Hall address listed on the website). You might want to see if she is a fit. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/laura-rainville-oakland-c…
My son also suffered from anxiety. After seeing a few therapists, the individual he connected with best was Scott Fischer. Scott has a unique approach that worked well for my son. Rather than sitting in an office, Scott likes to get out in nature and take walks with his patients. Doing so helped ease my son's anxiety and allow him to talk more openly about his feelings.
He has also gone to people's homes if that works better for them.
Scott.fischer81 [at] gmail.com
(919) 371-5930
It's important to find someone with whom your child feels most comfortable.
Good luck
Elaine