Therapist for Child with ADHD

5 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Therapist for Tween

    – Mar 8, 2022
    (1 reply)

    I'm looking for an experienced therapist for my 12 year old son who has some ADHD/OCD/ASD like behaviors. Looking for someone on Beacon Health.

    Mar 8, 2022

    If you are looking for someone on Beacon Health I'd suggest getting a list of names of therapists in the area and doing a search on Yelp and Psychology Today.  Many therapists also have their own websites- if you google their name + their city you might be able to find out more about them.  Psychology Today will often include the website.  I suggest interviewing/having a free consultation with at least two therapists before making a decision as fit is critical. Best wishes!

  • Psychiatrist for 11 year old with ADHD and meltdowns

    – Jan 5, 2022
    (3 replies)

    Hello BPN Family,

    We seek a psychiatrist for our 11-year-old with ADHD and social issues. Our child tends to bottle up what is bothering them and then has severe meltdowns at home as a result. Most of the meltdowns are because of social issues. We constantly communicate with their teachers, so the anxiety is not related to typical ADHD-related problems like time management or stress over school assignments. As we enter the teen years, we want to cover all our bases. We prefer talk therapy with strategies over art therapy.

    Jan 5, 2022

    My daughter is 8, almost 9 and struggling with anxiety, depression, anger, showing the beginning signs of self harm.

    At school, she does very well. It is at home when she shows how she feels, has melt downs, says troubling things. For several years I felt she needed a therapist, though her father was resistant. We are separated.

    Recently, he agreed, after emphasizing her pediatrician thought it was a good idea.

    Have called so many numbers, and no luck yet.

    Please advise

    Best,

    M

    That sounds like a lot to handle. The fact that you’re seeking answers is amazing and courageous.

     If you discuss this with their pediatrician, the doctor can make a referral. You might also want to discuss a neuropsych evaluation with the pediatrician— They can make that referral as well.

    Neuropsych evaluation is not inexpensive, so you may have to press for it to get insurance to cover it. But having a formal evaluation can be really helpful as you move forward. It’s also an excellent tool to force the schools to accommodate your child’s unique needs.

    you’re doing an amazing job! Your child is very lucky to have you as their advocate!!

    Hi, Virginia Cunningham is amazing. Schools all over the Bay Area refer to her. My son and I have seen her since he was in kindergarten. Super helpful. I've referred her to tons of people over the years and ALL have responded that their child loved her and she helped them. 510-468-7128

  • Therapist for 10 YO Girl w/ ADHD

    – Apr 20, 2021
    (4 replies)

    We're seeking a therapist for my 9 year old daughter (soon to be 10 in June) with ADHD. Although she is medicated, she still struggles with anger management, impulse control and emotional regulation. We had planned to seek family therapy, but then shelter in place started and then kept going. During the pandemic things have gotten worse and her behavior has deteriorated along with her emotional state. She lies, stays up late into the night and prowls around for sweets after everyone has gone to bed and then lies about it (some more). She'll have two hour crying sessions because we wouldn't let her watch TV till she finished her homework. Any leads on a therapist would be welcome.  

    Apr 20, 2021

    Hi - we have also been looking for our ADHD daughter, who sounds very similar to ours (she is 8.5, almost 9). Your username is hidden, but I'd love to connect -- I think support with others going through these challenges is really needed. (I'm also interested in finding a great therapist, as our experience with play based felt like it lacked skills and tactics that are really needed to help our kid.) If you're interested in connecting, please reach out, we'd love to get to know you (even though I also know that with children like ours, 'extra' time and socializing can be extremely difficult).

    We had begun to explore this modality (DBT group therapy) https://www.clearwaterclinic.com/dbt-children/

    Your daughter sounds just like my son (10yo)! We put even a lock on our pantry just for that same reason. There are holes in the walls at our house because he hit them with his toys with so much rage. He lies about being on zoom school all the while playing online games. I can go on and on. Anyway, we are seeing Mindy Szelap on zoom. She talks mainly to us parents, giving us tips and parenting skills to deal with him. It is more like family therapy actually. We really like Mindy. She has lots of experience with ADHD kids. Mindy Szelap (510) 394-5670

    Marla R Rosen, MFT has been a great support to my 8 year old son, my husband, and myself this past year.  We do not have an ADHD diagnosis, but were struggling with some similar behaviors and difficult dynamics.  Marla was highly recommended to me (by a trusted therapist) as a profoundly skilled and experienced child therapist, and her expertise with us as parents has been transformative.  She can be reached marlarosenmft (at) gmail.com, 510-399-0473.  Highly recommend.

    Hi there,

    I was experiencing challenges with my daughter a few years back. We had wonderful success working with Rebecah Freeling from Wits' End Parenting. While not a therapist, she is a specialist, and all I can say is that we got excellent results we were looking for. 

    Her contact info is: 

    Rebecah FreelingWits' End Parenting

    rebecah [at] witsendparenting.com

  • Child Psychologist with ADHD experience

    – Sep 13, 2019
    (4 replies)

    I am looking for recommendation for a child psychologist with ADHD experience. Would prefer a female and in the East Bay. I have looked and contacted many and all seem to be full.   Thank you in advance.

    Sep 13, 2019

    Hi-

    I don't know if she is full, but you could try Renee Talmon at the Berkeley Therapy Center: https://www.bti.org/renee-talmon-psy-d. Good luck! 

    We are working with Heidi Zeichick with Psychiatric Alternatives.  Our daughter has ADHD and other learning differences. We’ve found her to be helpful to our daughter and to us. My husband and I started seeing her concurrently for parent support and this has also been extremely helpful. 

    Heidi also has personal experience with ADHD so we find this helpful because she gets it as a parent as well as from a clinical perspective.  

    Not sure if she has space but their admin office is really responsive. 

    Wishing you the best.

    Alison Potter on Grizzly Peak is a psychiatrist, but she has experience with ADHD, dyslexia, etc. She is relatively new to the area, and we had no trouble getting an appointment with her.

    My son has been using Dr. Amber Lerma for probably 4 years.  She just recently left a group practice in Lafayette and is now on her own in Orinda.  She’s always been very responsive and we recommend her highly.  

  • Looking for a psychologist with ADHD speciality

    – Jul 26, 2016
    (1 reply)

    We are looking for a psychologist for a six year old girl who may have ADHD. We'd like to find someone who works well with children and is very knowledgeable about ADHD. It would be great if he/she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has some experience working with bright children. We can get to appointments in Berkeley, Oakland, Orinda, Lafayette, and Walnut Creek. 

    Jul 26, 2016

    Ross Andelman (510) 527-9615

    He works with kids, specializes in ADHD, super-competent and a really really nice guy.

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Psychologist for negative child with ADHD

March 2013

I have a grade school child who was diagnosed with ADHD. However almost everything out of his mouth is doom and gloom. He seems to always tell me the negative side. I have tried asking what are some positive things and he wants no part of it. His life is good, family, friends and doing well in school and sports. However he seems unhappy. Does anyone know of a child psychologist that works with ADHD children? Thank you for reading. Worried Mom Anon

Kent Grelling is a wonderful psychologist who works with kids and adolescents. He is in Orinda. Been There