Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Patient and Family Education

We want you to have all the information you and your child need to understand your child’s condition and to participate in treatment. This page provides links to resources that we hope will be helpful.

Resources at Seattle Children’s 

Condition-Specific Resources

Treatment-Specific Resources

Treatment Groups and Classes

Groups

We offer groups for children, teens and their parents and caregivers. Treatment in a group format is shown to be highly effective. It also allows more families to receive care. We hear from families that our groups provide support and connection and help to reduce the stigma that can come with having a mental health condition. Many of our groups are offered virtually through a video platform; some are in-person.

Treatment groups provide hands-on skills and education to children and teens who struggle with their emotions and behaviors. Many of our groups also have a parent group that takes place at the same time. Some groups are for parents only. We create treatment groups based on current research and best practices. Treatment groups are billed to insurance and require a child to have a mental health diagnosis and meet medical necessity.  

Classes

We also offer a range of health education classes for parents.  Most classes are offered via telehealth.  Classes are billed directly to families for a $20 fee per class.  Because classes do not require the child to have a mental health diagnosis and do not meet medical necessity standards, they are not billed to insurance.  

How to access treatment groups

If your child is new to Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine: Ask your child’s primary care provider to refer your child to the group you are interested in. When we receive a referral from your provider, we will let them know if we have an opening or not. If we have room in the group, we will contact you to answer questions to see if the group is a good fit. Then we will schedule a consult or evaluation appointment. This appointment will help us understand the child’s diagnosis and come up with a treatment plan, which may include taking part in group treatment. Learn more about how to get mental health services at Seattle Children’s.

If you are a current patient: Please talk with your Seattle Children’s provider. They can recommend a group, as well as provide a referral.

Some groups are offered in English and also separately in Spanish, or we use an interpreter.

Before joining a telehealth (virtual) group, please read our Group Therapy Telehealth Visit Guidelines (PDF) (Spanish).

Cost

The cost of each group differs. We will bill your child’s insurance for each session you attend. Read more for details on a specific group. 

  • ADHD or behavior problems

    ADHD First Steps Parent Education Class

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children and adolescents ages 5 to 15 who have ADHD or may have ADHD.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).

    Behavior Management for Foster and Kinship Caregivers (FAST-B Foster Caregiver Skills Group)

    • Audience: Foster and kinship caregivers  for children ages 4 to 8.
    • Format: Group for caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF).

    Dialectical Behavior Therapy Parent Skills Group

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of teens ages 13 to 17 who need help managing their emotions and behaviors.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).

    Intensive Caregiver Group for Managing Disruptive Behavior

    • Audience: Caregivers of children ages 5 to 12 who have extreme levels of emotion and are unable to control their behaviors at home, at school or in the community.
    • Format: Parents and caregivers come to all sessions. Children come to some sessions.
    • Read more.

    Parent-School Partnership Consultation Group Program

    • Audience: Caregivers of children ages 5 to 11 with attention, impulse control or behavior problems at school.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).

    Parents and Tweens Tuning In, Engaging, Relating and Nurturing (PATTERN)

    • Audience: Teens ages 10 to 13 who struggle to manage intense emotions and their parents or caregivers.
    • Format: Group that teens and parents or caregivers attend together and some sessions for parents/caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF).

    Supporting Teens’ Autonomy Daily (STAND)

    • Audience: Teens in 6th through 10th grade with ADHD, learning problems or difficulty organizing and their parents or caregivers.
    • Format: Group that teens and 1 parent or caregiver attend together.
    • Read more (PDF). 

    SuperParenting Children

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children ages 5 to 11 (at the time of referral) with challenging behaviors, including trouble listening, arguing, having tantrums or not completing tasks.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF).

    SuperParenting Teens

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of teens ages 12 to 15 (at the time of referral) with trouble managing emotions and behaviors and completing tasks.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF).
  • Anxiety or OCD

    Adaptive Anxiety Group 

    • Audience: Parents or caregivers of children and teens with anxiety ages 5 to 17 who have anxiety and are unable to participate in treatment due to complex neurodiversity. Includes autism, intellectual disabilities and genetic disorders that affect communication.
    • Format: Parent or caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF)

    Anxiety and OCD Treatment Program

    • Audience: Children ages 2 to 17 who have anxiety or OCD (split into separate groups based on age) and their parents or caregivers.
    • Format: Groups for parents and caregivers of children ages 2 to 5 and 6 to 8, as well as groups that parents and caregivers attend with their children ages 9 to 12 and 13 to 17.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish). 

    Early Childhood Anxiety Group for Parents or Caregivers

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children ages 2 to 5 who have anxiety.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish). 

    School Avoidance Parent and Caregiver Group

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of school-age children or teens who have had a very hard time attending school.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish). 

    Selective Mutism Group

    • Audience: Children ages 3 to 7 and 8 to 12 who have selective mutism and their parents or caregivers.
    • Format: Child and parent/caregiver groups offered at the same time.
    • Read more (PDF) (Simplified Chinese) (Spanish).
  • Cancer

    Middle School Life (After Cancer)

    • Audience: Middle school students who have completed treatment for cancer or a brain tumor.
    • Format: Child and parent/caregiver groups offered at the same time.
    • Read more (PDF).

    High School Cancer Group

    • Audience: High school students who have received treatment for cancer or a brain tumor.
    • Format: Group for high school students only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).

    AYA (Adolescents and Young Adults) Cancer Group

    • Audience: Adolescents and young adults, in the spring of their senior year of high school or older, who have received treatment for cancer or a brain tumor.
    • Format: Group for adolescents and young adults only.
    • Read more (PDF).

    BIPOC Cancer Group

    • Audience: Adolescents and young adults ages 16 and older who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) who are currently undergoing treatment at Seattle Children’s for cancer or a brain tumor.
    • Format: Group for adolescents and young adults only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).
  • Coping with needles
  • Depression

    Coping and Mood Management Group for Teens

    • Audience: Teens ages 13 to 17 who have depression and their parents or caregivers.
    • Format: Group that teens and parents or caregivers attend together.
    • Read more (PDF).
  • Early childhood

    Incredible Years (Early Childhood)

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children ages 2 to 4 with behavioral concerns.
    • Format: Parent and caregiver groups.
    • Read more (PDF).

    Early Childhood Clinic Parent Anxiety Group

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children ages 3 to 6 who have anxiety.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).
  • Eating disorders

    Meal Support Training

    • Audience: Parents and caregivers of children (any age) with eating disordered behavior.
    • Format: Group for parents and caregivers only.
    • Read more (PDF) (Spanish).

    Skills Training for Adolescents in Recovery (STAR)

    • Audience: Teens ages 13 to 17 in ongoing outpatient treatment.
    • Format: Group for teens only.
    • Read more (PDF).

Classes

Support

  • Guided Pathways provides support for families and their children living in King County. They provide 1-to-1 parent support to help guide parents while their child is having difficulty and during recovery. They also provide peer support to guide youth through difficult times.
  • See a list of support groups at Seattle Children’s.

Resources in the Community

Even if we do not have openings, it is important to get care when your child needs it. There are many resources in the community that can help.

External Links

How to Get Services

We often have more requests from new patients than we have openings. To make an appointment, you need a referral from your child’s primary care provider. Learn more about how to get mental health services at Seattle Children’s.

If you have a referral, call 206-987-2164.

Providers, see how to refer a patient.

In crisis?

If you, your child, family or friend needs help right away, call, chat or text 988. The free and confidential 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States to provide support for people in distress, as well as prevention and crisis resources. The Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.

Seattle Children’s Psychiatric Urgent Care offers in-person and video visits for same-day mental health support for children and teens ages 4 through 17 who may not need the services of an emergency department.

Hotlines for Youth (PDF) provides other options for immediate help for children and teens. (Also available in Amharic, Arabic, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.)