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  • Children, Adolescents & Families

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    Treatment Philosophy

    We provide children and adolescent patients with mental health assessments and comprehensive treatment plans that can include psychiatric medication, psychotherapy and support for lifestyle changes for a wide spectrum of mental illness. We consider all factors affecting each child, including medical issues, family dynamics, development and life stressors to determine the cause of the presenting symptoms.

    We view treatment as a partnership and shared responsibility with each patient and their family, tailored to their specific situation and needs. We offer gentle support for growth and work outside of the clinic.

    Many of the evidence based and effective psychotherapies such as cognitive behavior therapy and dialectical behavior therapy include components that require the patient to challenge themselves outside of the therapy sessions independently with a variety of activities and mental exercises.

    Children & Adolescent Ages: 0-17

    Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Medication Management

    Our psychiatrists are board certified to provide psychiatric medication services to children and adolescents ages 0-18.

    Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy

    Mental Fitness Clinic has licensed and certified psychotherapists experienced and passionate about working with youth.

    Adolescent Neuropsychological Testing

    Neuropsychological testing is designed to help you understand how your brain works. As part of the evaluation, the…

    FAQ

    Does My Child Need Psychiatric Services?

    Some indications suggesting the need for psychiatric evaluation include severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, psychosis, and thoughts of harming oneself that would make it difficult for your child to function at home or at school. Another reason is when talk therapy (psychotherapy) has been ongoing for an extended period and yet symptoms remain persistent and difficult to manage. A board-certified psychiatrist can assess for the need for psychiatric medication to alleviate your child’s symptoms. If you have additional questions, please feel free to call our office.

    What Can I Expect on Our First Visit to the Office?

    Please fill out our new patient forms online in the patient portal before your visit, specific instructions are sent after you schedule your first appointment. Please be prepared to discuss your child’s past medical history, and send via the patient portal medical documents including laboratory reports and progress notes. Please bring bottles of medication that your child is currently taking. School report cards and psychological testing reports if applicable are also valuable. Conducting a comprehensive evaluation takes time, and additional sessions may be necessary before deciding on a treatment plan. It would be helpful if you talk freely about your child’s symptoms and past history, and specific questions will also be asked by your clinician to complete the assessment. Typically, individual interviews with the child and parent, respectively, alone is helpful for the assessment.

    What is Mental Fitness Clinic’s Evaluation Process?

    We will discuss a wide range of personal information from your child’s past, including the symptoms that brought your family to the clinic, and try to determine the environmental and innate factors involved in creating the condition. Prior mental health treatments, family history of mental illness, general information about your child’s living situation and social connections will also be discussed. Sometimes filling out a clinical questionnaire would be useful and one would be given to you to be filled out either by the patient or the parent/teacher, as applicable. Referrals for proper medical assessment to rule out medical conditions or to safely prescribe medications may be indicated.

    How Do I Know if Mental Fitness Clinic is the Right Fit for My Child?

    The medical director, Neevon Esmaili, MD, is a dual board-certified psychiatrist specializing in children, adolescent and adult mental health treatment. He has work experience with a wide range of cases. He has used his experience to select trusted clinicians to provide care in the clinic.

    If your child is suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, experiencing psychotic symptoms, among other conditions, then treatment can be provided.

    Our staff psychiatrists are able to provide psychiatric medications for mental health when required. Mental Fitness Clinic also offers a team of psychotherapists offering individual talk therapy, which typically consists of weekly 50-minute sessions.

    Our treatment approach is to emphasize working hard with a psychotherapist (talk therapist, when it is appropriate for your needs) along with life style interventions such as nutrition and exercise, possibly allowing for lower doses and fewer mental health medications (psychiatric medication may still remain a core treatment). Lifestyle interventions are not a mandatory requirement for being a patient in the clinic and are offered only as recommendations.