Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Miami, FL

A first visit is usually a specialist copay, because pediatric psychiatric care is covered by most Medicaid plans and major commercial carriers in Miami-Dade. If your deductible is unmet, the visit applies to it. Follow-up reviews cost less than the initial evaluation. We verify benefits beforehand and tell you the expected amount. Self-pay pricing is quoted in writing.

Plan on 60 to 90 minutes. A pediatric assessment covers your observations as a parent, your child's own account, developmental history, sleep and screen habits, and school information. That cannot be done properly in 20 minutes. Follow-up visits are shorter, usually 20 to 30 minutes once a diagnosis and plan are in place.

Not automatically. Treatment usually starts with behavioral and therapeutic approaches, and medication is considered when symptoms are moderate to severe or when those approaches have not been enough. If medication is recommended, we explain why, what to expect, the side effects to watch for, and how we will monitor. You decide with us, not for us.

We assess children and adolescents up to 18. The approach shifts with age: with younger children more of the work involves parents and structured behavioral strategies, while teenagers are seen more individually with clear boundaries about what is shared. Tell us your child's age when booking so we schedule appropriately.

Usually yes for younger children, and partly for teenagers. Parents are involved throughout, but adolescents often need some time alone with the clinician to speak openly, which is clinically important. We explain the boundaries at the start: safety concerns are always shared with you, ordinary private details generally are not.

Bring report cards, any teacher notes or emails about behavior or attention, previous evaluations or school psychoeducational testing, a list of any medications tried with doses and effects, and your insurance card. School information is genuinely valuable, since attention and behavior look different in a classroom than at home.

By pattern and context, using history rather than a single questionnaire. Both can cause poor concentration, but ADHD symptoms are typically present across settings from early childhood, while anxiety-driven inattention tracks with worry and often appeared later or after a specific event. Rating scales from both parent and teacher help, which is why we ask for school input.

Often yes, particularly for adolescents and for follow-up reviews. Video works well for medication monitoring and for teenagers who talk more freely from their own room. First assessments of younger children are frequently better in person, where the clinician can observe behavior directly. We advise which fits when you book.

It depends on the treatment. Stimulant medication for ADHD often shows effect within days, which is unusual in psychiatry. Antidepressants take four to eight weeks. Behavioral and therapeutic work builds over several weeks. What you should see quickly is a clear plan and a scheduled review, rather than being left to wait and wonder.

Yes. Where clinically appropriate we provide letters supporting accommodations, such as extended test time or seating adjustments, and documentation for school-based support processes. Requests for formal educational classification usually also require psychoeducational testing by the school district, which is a separate process we can explain.

Yes. R&C Psychiatry is a bilingual practice, and appointments can be conducted in Spanish. That often matters in pediatric care, where parents may be most comfortable in Spanish while the child is more fluent in English. Our clinicians speak both, so the conversation does not have to route through the child as translator.

That is common with teenagers and it is worth discussing before the appointment rather than forcing it. Sometimes we start with a parent-only consultation to plan an approach. Framing the visit as help with a specific problem the teenager themselves cares about, such as sleep or stress, tends to work better than presenting it as an assessment of them.