Online Child & Teen Psychiatry for St. Petersburg, FL residents

Many children have a period of rituals or repeated questions and grow out of it. The signs that it is more than a phase are time, distress and spread: rituals that eat an hour a day, a child who is upset rather than playful about them, and worries that move from one topic to the next. Those are worth an evaluation rather than waiting.

They can be. Tics are common alongside childhood OCD, and the combination changes some treatment choices. We ask about tics at every OCD evaluation, and about any sudden onset of symptoms after an illness, which calls for a careful medical history.

Not by force, and not at the first visit. The treatment that works is exposure and response prevention, a specific therapy in which the child practices facing the worry without the ritual in small, planned steps. We refer to therapists who do it and coach parents on ending the reassurance cycle at home.

Sometimes, when the OCD is severe, when therapy alone is not enough, or when depression or another condition is present. The medications used are daily medications from the antidepressant family, started low and increased slowly. They take several weeks to work, and we discuss that honestly before starting.

No. Ascend has offices in Tampa (Carrollwood), Wesley Chapel, and Lakeland. South Pinellas families are served by HIPAA-secure Florida telehealth. If a visit has to happen face to face, it is scheduled at the Wesley Chapel office.

We work with many major commercial plans and offer self-pay options. Coverage varies by plan and service. Our team will confirm with you.

Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC keeps new-patient video times on her Zocdoc calendar, so the booking button shows the next open slot for your family. If you would rather talk it through first, send the form and a care coordinator calls you back, usually within one business day. If things turn into a safety worry while you wait, do not hold out for the appointment: call or text 988, which can connect you with Eleos, the Pinellas youth Mobile Response Team, or go to the Johns Hopkins All Children's emergency center downtown.

Each Pinellas County school has its own designated school-based 504 Coordinator, and the district directs parents to that person for Section 504 information. If the concern is special education rather than accommodations, the district recommends partnering with the school-based team first, and each student in exceptional student education has an assigned case manager. Once you give permission, we can send the coordinator a letter that names the diagnosis and lists the accommodations we recommend, written specifically enough to be useful in the meeting.

Usually not for routine care. The Wesley Chapel office is about 45 minutes and 43 miles from St. Petersburg via I-275 N, measured outside rush hour, and the evaluation and follow-ups for most children and teens run well on video. If a particular visit ever has to happen in person, it is scheduled at 27724 Cashford Cir Ste 102 in Wesley Chapel, and care goes back to video afterward. We will tell you ahead of time if that applies to your child.

No, it is a county service. Pinellas County launched Care About Me in May 2024 as a coordinated access line for situations that are not a crisis: a resident or family member can call, text or chat with a behavioral health specialist, who triages the need and schedules an appointment with a local provider. It is separate from Ascend Mind and Body. To book with Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC, use the booking button on this page or send the callback form.

No. Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC sees children and teenagers from 5 through 17. The OCD material on this page focuses on eight to twelve year olds because that is a common age for rituals to surface, but St. Petersburg high schoolers are seen too, for OCD and for anxiety, depression, attention and mood. She also treats adults, so turning 18 does not force a change of clinician. All of it can be done by video from home.

No, although the visit covers much of the same ground. A child psychiatrist is a physician. Margot Krahn is a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and Florida-licensed APRN with 12 years in practice and training across the lifespan, children included. She evaluates, diagnoses and builds the treatment plan, and when medication such as one from the antidepressant family is warranted for OCD, she prescribes it and follows your child by video.

We refer it out. Exposure and response prevention is a specific therapy that works when it is delivered by a therapist trained in the method, so we point families toward therapists who do it rather than improvise it. Margot Krahn's part is the evaluation, the diagnosis, coaching parents on ending the reassurance cycle, and medication when it is needed. For St. Petersburg families who want help finding local providers, Pinellas County's Care About Me line is one county route to an appointment.

Start with 988 by call or text; in Pinellas County its counselors can bring in Eleos, the youth Mobile Response Team that used to be called PEMHS. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911. For a child who needs emergency care, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital keeps a 24-hour pediatric Emergency and Trauma Center at 550 6th Street South. Ascend Mind and Body offers scheduled outpatient appointments and is not set up to respond to a crisis.