Diana Bastien, PsyD, ABPP

Children are facing many challenges now, and as a parent it can be hard to know how to support them during these challenging times. Does your child face anxiety that stops them from doing what they want or need to do? Maybe your child feels driven to do things over and over again until it feels just right. Do they struggle to sleep? Is your child on the autism spectrum struggling with social skills? Are they texting you during the day feeling anxious and asking to be picked up early from school? How do you help your child when it's hard to know where to start? I am here to help. I view each family as unique, identify the most effective treatment available for each situation, provide a supportive relationship, and actively work with you to reach your goals. Parents are an integral part of the treatment process. You in no way caused the challenges your child is experiencing, but you are the key to the solution. I am excited to get to know you and your family, build a relationship with you, and help you work toward your goals. Email me today to get scheduled for a consultation, so we can discuss your concerns for your child and talk through potential ways of working through recent challenges. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Will teletherapy benefit my child as much as in-person therapy? Studies show that teletherapy is just as effective as in-clinic therapy for OCD, anxiety, and behavioral concerns, as well as many other concerns. Teletherapy offers me a unique opportunity to assist your child in practicing skills in their home and nearby community. This means that your child will be able to transfer the skills they learned in therapy to real life much more smoothly; applying skills from therapy to real-life situations is the entire purpose of therapy. Without teletherapy, I would not have access to different things at your home, in the community, or in your child’s social life that may be causing them anxiety; teletherapy allows me the ability to assist your child with actively doing skill practice rather than just talk about skill practice in an office. Will teletherapy work for my child? Are they too young? Parents of young children often voice concern about their child’s ability to sit in front of a screen for an extended time to participate in teletherapy. This is not what teletherapy looks like for young children. Therapy for young kids typically includes a parent coaching model, whether the therapy happens in clinic or through teletherapy. Parents practice skills with their child in their own home as their therapist coaches them on how to use specialized techniques. Research has shown that the parent coaching approach is effective for anxiety, OCD, and behavioral concerns. My child’s attention span isn’t the best. Can they sit through a teletherapy session? Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an active treatment, not “talk” therapy, so your child will be engaging in activities during the sessions. What is the cost of treatment? Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an active treatment approach that focuses on achieving maximum symptom relief in a relatively short time. Studies show that CBT often brings about more rapid results in much shorter time than more traditional “talk” therapy, which could drag on for years with little improvement. The overall cost of your child’s treatment will vary according to several factors, including how many concerns you are hoping to have your child address in treatment and what their functioning is when they start treatment. The cost of each session varies depending on the length of the session and will be discussed with you during our phone consultation. I possess a high level of specialization, particularly in evidence-based treatment for OCD, anxiety disorders, and functional neurological symptom disorder, as well as being one of a dozen board-certified child and adolescent psychologists in the state of Washington. By offering an outstanding quality of treatment as well as excellent customer service, families find excellent value for the fees I charge. Many find that it is more cost effective to pay more to receive this level of specialized treatment. As a specialist, I resolve long-standing problems in far fewer sessions and at far lower overall cost compared to treatment from a “generalist” psychologist, which usually involves many sessions of less targeted and less focused treatment.