FAQ

We currently accept:

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Medicaid

TriCare

United Health

Viva

No- Dr. DeShazo is a Board Certified Pediatrician who has had additional training in treating childhood mental health. She is able to diagnose and treat all mental conditions and disorders within her field of training and license. A psychiatrist has had more extensive additional training in a fellowship, and is able to treat more advanced or complicated mental health problems. Dr. DeShazo will always advise you if your child would be better served by seeing a Child Psychiatrist or Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrician. 

It depends on their diagnosis and your wishes after discussing your thoughts and concerns with Dr. DeShazo. There are many treatments for various mental health conditions, and not all require medication. While certain types of medication are first line treatment for certain conditions, all medications may not be right for every child. Chosing the right medication requires having the right diagnosis and parental support. The decision to start medication will  be thouroughly discussed, including risks and benefits of various medications, and what symptoms it intends to target. When prescribed properly, medications should help with your child’s challenges without unwanted side effects, and without changing their personality.

Dr. DeShazo sees patients with many mental health conditions, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD, insomnia and similar conditions. Often symptoms of these conditions overlap, or mimic one another. Different conditions often require different treatments. The order in which these are treated is important as one medication may worsen the other condition. This is why your child deserves to see an expert in prescribing medications for mental health so we can get it right the first time.

While ADHD is one of the most common disorders that she sees, it often has “comorbid conditions” associated with it. These conditions include depression, anxiety, OCD, and others. Dr. DeShazo is able to treat these conditions as well- either with or without the presence of ADHD. Occasionally these conditions alone will mimic ADHD, which is why a thourough interview and review of questionnaires is crucial to finding the right diagnosis and treatment plan.

Typically, patients are seen ages 5-18. However, every child is different and exceptions are made for some younger children. Contact us if you are unsure if your child should be seen in our clinic