Seeking Therapist for First Grader
Our first grader may need some professional help with regulating emotions, managing anger without hitting/crying/yelling, etc. Any current recommendations? We have Kaiser, so it could be someone at Kaiser or outside, in which case we'd be out of pocket. Thanks.
May 3, 2017
Parent Replies
We sent our son to see April Netzer in Albany. She was reasonable for out of pocket costs.
Good Luck
We have Kaiser but decided to pay out of pocket for a private therapist (Kaiser would have been much cheaper but lots more hoops we didn't want our son to endure and we were able to have more input on who he saw and were able to find a good fit). I'd recommend our therapist, Kimberly Koljat. She does play therapy, drama therapy, and filial therapy. She doesn't take insurance, though, so she's totally out of pocket. Her email is Kimberlykoljatmft [at] gmail.com and phone is 415-379-0945. I believe she sees clients in both Oakland and San Francisco.
The Kaiser children's mental health program didn't work for our daughter. There was not enough focus on her issues or our parenting -- just a lot of group programs that didn't help her. On the other hand, we've been extremely pleased with the child therapy and family therapy at Bay Area Children's Association (BACA) in Oakland. The initial evaluation process is intensive and expensive (four sessions, $1,900), but very worth it, as the psychologist and psychiatrist came away with a pretty clear understanding of her issues. Even though we have Kaiser, we actually purchased an Anthem Blue Cross plan for just our daughter to use at BACA. The premium (about $375 per month) plus the minimal copay was far less than the out of pocket costs of the intake process. We also save money this way for our typical month of services (two sessions per week, once with just her, once with her dad and I). Good luck!