Meet Saban’s first child and adolescent psychiatrist

Across the country, there has been a growing need for better access to mental health for children and youth. At Saban, one of the most common issues we’ve seen recently is the difficulty kids have had readjusting to in-person school. Many are struggling with social anxiety and depression. This can lead to self-harming behaviors ranging from skipping classes to eating disorders to cutting themselves.

Working with children and teens requires specialized training. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Saban hired a new Pediatric Psychiatrist last October: Dr. Daniel Waldman. He is working hard to address the issues with the young patients we see, helping them adjust to their new social pressures and developing coping skills to build resilience.

As they learn more about the needs of our young patients, Dr. Waldman and our clinical team are working collaboratively to inform treatment plans. The team includes Dr. Waldman, licensed clinical social workers, behavioral health clinicians, a clinical supervisor and a pediatrician to ensure they address the whole person and better meet the needs of our most complex cases.

Our team of providers is excited to have the opportunity to work with an in-house pediatric psychiatrist for the first time. Dr. Waldman’s expertise and presence are a huge plus for the team and for the young patients we see each day.

Getting kids to open up Dr. Waldman understands it can be challenging to really understand what is going on with your child. Between growing educational and extracurricular demands, social media concerns and bullying, starting a meaningful conversation is important. Here are a few tips:

Ask open-ended questions

Start with simple questions that have an easy answer, but don’t settle with “yes” or “no.” Follow up with open-ended questions.

Did you have math class today?

On a scale of 1 to 5, how did it go?

Ready for summer break?

What is one thing you‘re looking forward to?

Focus on positives

Keep questions positive and focused on strengths.

I’m glad you had fun at practice. Has working on your skill made practice more enjoyable?

What made you smile today?

Enable choice

Create “conversation cards” with topics you consistently want to check in about and a few fun questions. Your child gets to choose, so they can focus on the topic they feel comfortable talking about. Questions can be on a range of topics:

Checking-in question: Tell me three things that you‘re proud of.

Fun question:

DR. DANIEL WALDMAN PEDIATRIC PSYCHIATRIST, SABAN COMMUNITY CLINIC

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would they be?