Initial Visit

The initial evaluation takes place during your first session and is on average 75 minutes. The initial visit will include evaluation, assessment, education, recommendations, and developing a treatment plan which can include medications, counseling, and/or referrals for additional services. In this session, background information and history are gathered, questions/concerns prompting evaluation are discussed, and a plan is made for moving forward.

For children/adolescents, Megan meets with the child and parent(s)/guardian together, and then a portion of the session will be spent individually with the child. Megan requests that alternative arrangements be made for other children in the family during this session, as there tends to be a lot of information to cover initially, as well as to provide some privacy to the child/adolescent being seen, as some of the information covered may be sensitive. This allows for a more productive initial session.

In some cases, initial checklists/screening measures may be provided to be completed by the client, parents, and/or teachers to gather further information. At the initial session or at the follow-up session, we will review these checklists/screenings together.

Typical recommendations for further services may include formal psychological assessment/testing for cognitive/intellectual ability, learning issues, autism spectrum, developmental concerns, ADHD, behavioral issues, or social-emotional/behavioral concerns. Megan may also make a referral for specialized therapy for marital counseling or specific issues such as eating disorder or trauma, or specialized treatment for substance use.

Some of these services may be able to be provided by Megan, and for others Megan can assist in providing recommendations for providers who offer these services.

Follow-Up Visits

The follow-up session session is an average of 30 minutes for medication management. This allows for ample time to discuss interval history since the last visit, continue to gather information for diagnostic impressions, review screenings/assessments as applicable, address further questions, discuss recommendations and the treatment plan, and discuss any referrals for further services, if needed.

Parents will be involved with their child/adolescent to assist in providing information or insights, building parenting strategies in light of what their child/adolescent is working on, or to address relationship/communication concerns with their child/adolescent. Megan strongly believes that improvement comes when the family is involved and she supports a family systems approach to care.