How to find a therapist for young teen?

[Anonymous]

My young teen DD is generally fine, but has a good deal of anxiety. She recently mentioned to me that she thinks she might want to try seeing a therapist. I'm fully supportive, as I have no idea whether what she is experiencing is normal teen/adolescent stuff or something more. But I have no idea how to find a good one and start he process. Ask her pediatrician? Just scroll through my health insurance page of providers?

Anybody have any advice or recommendations?

[Anonymous]

I need to do this too. My plan is to start with her school counselor, get referrals from her pediatrician, and if I find somebody good our insurance doesn’t cover, I will ask our insurance to cover them. I have gotten tips for how to do that.

But yeah, this is all very daunting.

[Anonymous]

I found a therapist at Olney Counseling Center, where my insurance is accepted. On their website, they have bios of the therapists and I chose one I thought would be a good fit and who also had the experience, education and training I wanted. My ds was on a waitlist for 6 weeks, but has been seeing her virtually once a week since January. He is doing so well! He rarely has panic attacks anymore and his anxiety is manageable. I am so glad I kept looking because I feel like I have my kid back. Good luck and don't give up. When your child is open to therapy, they can make great progress in a short time.

[Anonymous]

If you can do it without insurance, all the better. You don't want it on your kids medical records.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can do it without insurance, all the better. You don't want it on your kids medical records.

I disagree. Seeking therapy during covid is understandable. Many therapists have waitlists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can do it without insurance, all the better. You don't want it on your kids medical records.

I disagree. Seeking therapy during covid is understandable. Many therapists have waitlists.

^^Also, when your child is suffering, a detail such as medical records are the least of your worries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can do it without insurance, all the better. You don't want it on your kids medical records.

It’s not 1960. Therapy is viewed favorably now.

[Anonymous]

Im sorry but a school counselor is totally useless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My young teen DD is generally fine, but has a good deal of anxiety. She recently mentioned to me that she thinks she might want to try seeing a therapist. I'm fully supportive, as I have no idea whether what she is experiencing is normal teen/adolescent stuff or something more. But I have no idea how to find a good one and start he process. Ask her pediatrician? Just scroll through my health insurance page of providers?

Anybody have any advice or recommendations?

Use the psychology today online tool to find people in your area. Find reviews if possible (not always possible and to be taken with a grain of salt) then cross reference with insurance.

[Anonymous]

Many therapists in this area don’t take insurance, so you pay need to file as out of network claims.

[Anonymous]

Asked an acquaintance who is a child therapist in the area for recommendations. Ended up going with Sibley Group; they have lots of therapists, many of whom are experienced in treatment of adolescents

My child also has anxiety and requested to see a therapist when they were 14. It's been very helpful.

[Anonymous]

My young teen DD started doing weekly virtual visits this spring with a therapist from Mosaic Therapy Services in Kensington. Same sort of thing—general anxiety, as well as some school issues where previous executive-functioning coping strategies from in-person school weren’t working in the virtual environment.

We’d been on several waiting lists for in-person for a while, and finally decided to give televisits a try in the meantime, if only as a stopgap measure. Mosaic works primarily with BCBS, I think. Not sure about other insurances.

[Anonymous]

In my experience it took a lot of leg work to find a therapist that took our insurance, was taking new patients and was a good fit for my child.
My tween identifies as LGBTQ so it was important for them to find a therapist who is comfortable with that.
Psychology today was a good starting point. Be open to the idea that whoever you go to at first might not be a great fit.

[Anonymous]

Try Sunstone Counseling in McLean. I think most of the counseling is virtual right now, so it doesn't really matter if you are close by. If your insurance doesn't cover it, they have some therapists who aren't fully certified yet at a lower rate (they are supervised by a licensed therapist). We have had good luck there.

[Anonymous]

It's difficult to find a therapist, especially one that is meeting in person. In addition, they have to jive with your child. Don't be afraid to leave your therapist after 1-3 appointments if they're not jiving. Keep at it though and expect to bounce around a bit before you find a good fit.