therapist recs for young teen DD - lying

[Anonymous]

My DD is in 7th grade and in the last month, I feel like our life is falling apart. She has been lying about some important-ish things and some dumb things and a couple weeks ago, she shoplifted for the first time. She's not smart or savvy enough (at least not yet) to totally cover her tracks so I busted her the next morning, when she was wearing the jewelry she had taken. She fell apart in tears and said she didn't know why she took it.

She has ADHD and is medicated for it. I'm worried this may be related to having low self-esteem or not feeling good about herself. She is a not a kid who talks to us a lot (never has been) about her feelings or emotions or what's going on in her life, much as I try.

Would ofc love it if they took insurance, but I realize that's a pipe dream. Really looking for the best person to help her. We're in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Not sure you will find a place that takes insurance in the time frame needed, but good luck.

I think you can probably address this with a number of therapists. I would seek out some recs from your pediatrician and do some searches online. I would look for someone with some ADHD experience.

Our kid was a very different situation but was displaying ODD-type behaviors based on a lot of social challenges at school and feeling really disconnected from us and any other helpful adult. Through work on addressing those things, we have been able to get to a really good point.

I would mostly focus on seeing the behavior as a symptom of a need. It has a "function," and you need to work with her (thinking of her as a good person who is making mistakes) and her new therapist to help support her.

[Anonymous]

Not sure where in MoCo you are but Abrams and Associates, McClintock Therapies, and Montgomery County Counseling Center are some practices that have been helpful for us.

[Anonymous]

Robin Brannan in Kensington is wonderful. Can't recommend her highly enough for kids with ADHD.

https://betterfamilytherapy.com/robin-brannan-lcmft

[Anonymous]

Thank you all.

Can you explain some of the behaviors around ODD? Sometimes, I think this could describe DD but other times, not so sure. And yes, mostly I think she’s a good kid who needs guidance and support. I feel like we’re a good family unit and she has lots of other role models and supports around her/people she can turn to.