Isn't it strange that most people have routine visits for our children's dental and physical health, and not for their mental health? I think it's time for that to change. It is well-established that prevention and early intervention services are the most effective for treating mental health conditions. When we can catch symptoms as they are emerging or intensifying, we can prevent a lot of suffering. While most pediatricians can offer very brief mental health symptom screenings, these are often not their primary focus or area of expertise. That's why The (K)now Clinic now offers routine mental health checkups as a service for children and adolescents (3 - 21 years-old). The potential benefits of these checkups and accompanying reports are:
It allows you to get specific information regarding a wide variety of mental health conditions that typically start in childhood,
to monitor those symptoms from one checkup until the next,
to establish going to a qualified mental health provider as something routine and normal,
to be able to ask and have questions answered for your child and for you as their caregiver,
to receive recommendations of strategies or supports to strengthen your parent-child relationship, and
to get resources on skills or interventions to address emerging mental health conditions.
Get your child or teen established and comfortable checking in with Dr. Gustman, or another qualified mental health provider who offers these routine screening and assessment services. While it does not ensure that your child will be able to receive more in-depth assessment or therapy with Dr. Gustman, he is able to take new clients fairly regularly and offers referrals to other providers upon request. In many instances, these mental health checkups may be covered, in part or in full, by your child's medical insurance as Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Services. Dr. Gustman is currently an in-network provider for many Aetna, Optum, United Healthcare, and Blue Shield of California insurance plans.