Individuals 40-years-old and under with:

• Anxiety, Mood Disorders, OCD, PTSD
• Autism
• ADHD/ADD
• Learning Disabilities
• Schizophrenia or Psychosis
• Tourette’s Syndrome
• Developmental Disabilities
• Executive Functioning Challenges
• Sensory Processing Disorders
• Performance Challenges (in sports, school, or their career)
• 2e (Twice Exceptional) challenges

Yes. Video sessions are conducted using a secure HIPPA complaint platform. Before we begin working together, we can discuss setting up these sessions, which are easy. Currently, Developmental Minds only provides clinical services in the state of Maryland. As long as you are physically in Maryland at the time of your telehealth session, you are eligible to participate in video sessions.

I do provide supportive, focused, and insight-oriented therapy to adolescents and young adults. Overall, therapy is best for many individuals when it aims to be brief. Therapy is often most effective when the provider is direct and transparent (i.e., therapy is a collaborative process, not something magically done by the therapist to the patient). During the course of therapy, you notice a benefit and improvement in the concerns you first brought to therapy. However, we will need to consistently check in about progress and how you are feeling about care. Therapy works best when the person of focus is motivated for change.

There are times improvements are not immediate and if there is no improvement or benefit, we will talk about alternatives that may be helpful.

There may be times when medications alone can be helpful, but the vast majority of the time, combination care (medication + therapy) shows the best results.

This will depend on your immediate and long-term needs. There are times we will discuss patterns, behaviors, or challenges you would like to change. Topics can include problems at work, school, or in relationships. During therapy, you will actively be learning skills that help support you reaching your goals.

Once you find out that your insurance will reimburse a portion of your treatment expenses, you will want to know if you have any deductible amounts you need to meet before getting reimbursed. You will also want to find out from your insurance what the process is for filing for reimbursement. When we have our sessions, you will be charged and provided a superbill, which is a statement of the session we had and the amount you paid. You will then submit the superbill to your insurance in order to receive your reimbursement from them.

At the time we schedule our first visit, you will receive forms to complete, sign and send back before the first session. Our first session is mostly about getting to know each other. You can share what you would like to focus on during sessions and we will begin to create a plan of how to work towards your goals. You are free to ask me any questions about my style and what to expect. During our initial few visits, we will explore what you would like to get out of care. A thorough medical, psychiatric, family, social, educational, and work (if applicable) assessment will be done to get to know you and/or your child better. Thereafter, we will explore your concerns further, sometimes going deeper to better understand what is going on. We will discuss strategies, tools, and techniques for dealing with the stress and issues and see how things improve.

Since Developmental Minds is an out of network provider, you have the choice to pay out of pocket or seek reimbursement from your PPO insurance.

If you would like to pay privately (out of pocket) which means you are not using insurance, you have the right to a Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act. The No Surprises Act (H.R. 133), requires that health care providers provide an estimate of the bill for any medical items or services, to clients or patients who do not have insurance or who are not using insurance. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services which shows the costs of items and services that are reasonably expected for your health care needs for an item or service. The estimate is based on information known at the time the estimate was created.

There are times where medications are not necessary. Before we consider starting a medication in treatment, we will ensure there is no other strategy that can work without needing to try a medication. Prior to starting, I will need your consent and understanding all the risk and benefits.

Though I will recommend the approach best supported by peer-reviewed scientific studies, choice of treatment modality is a personal decision. Implementing any treatment must be adapted carefully to meet the specific needs of the person or people seeking treatment.

Yes. Limited weekday evening and weekend appointments are available. There is an additional fee for these appointments.

The internet can be very helpful, but it also has its issues. I always recommend you keep an open mind, stay curious and bring whatever you find on social media and have an open discussion about it when you have a session. This can allow for a rich discussion.

Social communication is a form of communication that requires at least two individuals being "on the same page" with each other. It does not have to involve vocal language. It can include nonverbal language (i.e., body, sign language), writing, etc. Social communication skills have a significant impact on our lives. They increase our ability to explain our needs/desires, create stronger relationships, and find employment - each of which are challenges autistic individuals may struggle with. The best way to help all individuals build these skills is to create environments that value their strength and challenges versus making autistic individuals to feel the need to hide or camouflage their traits to fit in the world.