Seeking a diagnostic assessment is usually the key to unlocking a deeper understanding of your child, the way their brain works, and what he or she needs to make progress and thrive. Sometimes you or your child might be searching for an answer, “a reason” for why they feel different, have trouble managing their emotions, or making friends. Other times a teacher or pediatrician might suggest pursuing a formal evaluation for the purpose of obtaining a formal diagnosis. This diagnosis is often times important to linking your child with more effective services to address the clinical issues impairing quality of life. A diagnostic assessment can also aide in helping children and teens secure special accommodations in the school setting.

A formal diagnosis can help connect your child with therapeutic services in the community that aide in progress with specific emotional, behavioral, social, and academic challenges. Specifically, a formal diagnosis of ASD is required to qualify for Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) services which is a therapy designed to better understand how behavior works, how it is impacted by the environment, and how to enhance compliance and learning. Some other examples of recommendations that stem from a diagnostic assessment include social skills, groups, executive functioning coaches, psychiatrists for medication management, and treatment providers that offer specific and effective interventions including: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Neurofeedback, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and Ketamine Therapy for treatment resistant depression.

Yes! We provide assessments for adults up to the age of 25 years old.

Dr. Starleaf specializes in assessing young adults who are either struggling with their higher education (i.e. undergrad, medical school or law school) due to executive functioning issues or severe emotional dysregulation. She also specializes in assessing individuals who are struggling to live independently, form relationships, or maintain functional ones. There are many services available to young adults in the community who are struggling with these issues. These include vocational assessment, workplace advocates, executive functioning coaching, independent living skills groups, and social skills groups, just to name a few! Dr. Starleaf also prides herself on connecting the individual with the most effective treatment providers (i.e. psychiatrists, therapists) in order to maximize clinical progress.

This is a multistep process that guarantees an in depth look at your child and how they are functioning in their current environment. The first step of any evaluation will be an intake appointment where parents have the opportunity to discuss their concerns and goals for the assessment. A later appointment will be dedicated to conducting a thorough developmental history as early symptoms are key when considering various diagnoses. The assessor will also make attempts to observe your child in their natural environment with peers if possible (i.e. a school observation) before meeting them in person for neurodevelopmental and cognitive testing. Various outcome measures will also be completed to assess other psychological and socioemotional issues. The final step of the assessment process is a feedback session where the family has the opportunity to hear about the testing results, obtain any diagnosis, discuss treatment recommendations and possible school or work related accommodations. After this feedback session, the family will receive the final report.

If the assessment is for a young adult, the process is similar but with some slight modifications. Dr. Starleaf highly encourages family involvement if they are available. However, the adult patient would need to sign a release of information before involving family in the assessment process.

You can expect a warm welcome! Dr. Starleaf believes in putting the child, teen, and entire family at ease in the therapy room. Whether your young child is hyperactive or shy. Whether your teen is highly motivated for therapy or skeptical at best, it is Dr. Starleaf’s job to earn trust and build rapport.

Treatment goals can be established during the first session but others might need to take more time with that process.

The first session is truly about connecting to determine whether it’s “a good fit.”

Dr. Starleaf believes in data informed treatment and will occasionally collect that data to determine what progress has been made and what areas are still in need of improvement.

Dr. Starleaf also believes in checking in with her kids, teens and their families in order to make sure they are getting what they need out of therapy. Treatment goals can always be modified!

Research shows that telehealth can be just as effective as in person therapy for specific types of presenting problems and individuals. However, Dr. Starleaf prefers to work with younger children in person because there is greater opportunity to maintain attention and connect through play. When a patient is in crisis, Dr. Starleaf also prefers to meet in person so she can more thoroughly assess for risk.

Dr. Starleaf strongly believes in family involvement, especially when working with kids and teens. No child exists in a vacuum and lives in your family system every day. Therefore, to see progress with the patient often times parent coaching and/or strengthening family connection is key. There are times when Dr. Starleaf will honor her teens’ choice to keep the therapeutic process more private. However, when working with minors, limits of confidentiality are explained to both the patient and their parents during that first therapy session so there is no confusion. Of course when working with young adults (18+), confidentiality is Dr. Starleaf’s highest priority unless a written release of information is provided to involve members of their family.

Bottom line… we need each other! Research shows that connection aides in recovery and learning. Therefore, Dr. Starleaf believes in providing opportunities for growth and community in safe group settings.

Dr. Starleaf makes it her highest priority when first meeting with a new group of individuals to stress the importance of privacy. Although there is no guarantee of maintaining confidentiality among group members, it has never been an issue. Typically the individuals that are admitted into Dr. Starleaf’s groups are very respectful and compliant with the boundaries of therapy.

Dr. Starleaf is an out of network provider. She charges $300 per hour for testing services and $250 per hour for therapy. Patients are charged automatically after each session. Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Starleaf if you need to discuss sliding scale options.

Please feel free to contact your insurance company directly in order to obtain information about your out of network benefits. Many patients are able to receive reimbursement for a portion of the services provided if your deductible has been met for the year.

Dr. Starleaf has a 24 hour cancellation policy. Please note that patients will be charged the full session fee if there is a cancellation outside of this 24 hour window.