Beverly Hills Pediatrics has teamed up with Dr. Alexis Hershfield to offer mental health services in our office.
For a myriad of reasons, there has been a deluge of mental health issues affecting our children and young adults. Unfortunately, as the rates of mental health problems have risen, access to quality services in this realm has plummeted. We have decided to bring on a mental health provider at Beverly Hills Pediatrics to streamline diagnosis, access and therapy for our patients and their parents. Dr. Hershfield will be seeing patients in our Beverly Hills office location, and, when appropriate, will also help direct our patients to other mental health providers. Your consultation will start with a complimentary 10-15 minute phone consultation to determine what the right course of action is. Dr. Hershfield might then recommend a fuller comprehensive diagnostic evaluation followed by a short course of therapy, longer treatment plan or group therapy, depending on the needs of your family. Our goal is to be your mental health quarterback and to help you obtain the optimal type of therapy in a timely and productive manner.
* Please note that while Dr. Hershfield will provide services at Beverly Hills Pediatrics, she is not an employee of our practice and is an independent out-of-network provider.
Meet Dr. Alexis Hershfield
Dr. Alexis Hershfield is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in evidence-based interventions for children, adolescents and adults.
Dr. Hershfield primarily specializes in treating anxiety and related disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD), school related anxiety and avoidance, Specific Phobia, Body-Focused Behaviors (BFRBs), depression, Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, maternal mental health, and parenting challenges. Dr. Hershfield has extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Habit Reversal Training (HRT), and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). She also uses third wave CBT interventions, including mindfulness and acceptance based therapies. Her research has focused on the role that social media plays on child development, romantic relationships, clinical disorders, and clinical treatment.
At Beverly Hills Pediatrics, Dr. Hershfield will be providing comprehensive diagnostic assessments, brief and long-term intervention, parenting education, annual mental health checks, and support for additional linkages to specialty care. Dr. Hershfield is passionate about prevention and early intervention, and committed to creating access to evidence-based care.
Dr. Hershfield earned her B.A. at McGill University; her masters degree in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology. She has trained across service settings, including community mental health, hospital and partial hospital and outpatient programs, including the UCLA Child OCD Anxiety & Tic Disorders Program, UCLA Youth Stress & Mood Program and UCLA Intensive Outpatient Program for Pediatric OCD. She completed her APA accredited internship at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services (Child and Family Track) and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Southern California OCD & Anxiety Program.
A personal message from Dr. Hershfield
I partnered with Beverly Hills Pediatrics because I am hoping to help increase access to excellent evidence based care for patients. Partnering with Beverly Hills Pediatrics will allow us to help families get important information about differential diagnosis and appropriate care – and help families get the best treatment as early as possible. I also hope that by helping families with brief early intervention and annual mental health check-ins, many folks might never need long-term therapy. I am eager to work closely with children and parents to craft individualized treatment plans – and to help patients navigate the all-too-complicated mental health treatment system.
How to get started
Dr. Hershfield provides a brief complimentary phone call (10-15 minutes) to discuss your needs in more detail and help ensure a good fit for her care. During the phone call, you and Dr. Hershfield will decide the most helpful course of action which may include individual parent or child therapy, parent education, mental health coordination and support, or group therapy. You can schedule this brief phone call by emailing drhershfield@beverlyhillspediatrics.com .
BHP is excited to introduce 2 group therapy programs for parents, led by Dr. Alexis Hershfield beginning this summer!
Postpartum Therapy Group:
Our 8-week therapy support group for parents provides a safe space to explore emotional challenges related to the pregnancy and postpartum period. We will address concerns regarding child-rearing, self-care, feeding challenges, and interpersonal/intimacy issues. We will also introduce participants to cognitive behavioral skills to help manage symptoms of depression, anxiety and OCD.
Parenting Anxious Kids Therapy Group:
If you are a parent with an anxious child or teen, you have likely experienced how your child’s anxiety can take a toll on the entire family. Our 7-week parent group provides families and caretakers with evidence-based, practical strategies for supporting children and teens struggling with anxiety or OCD. We will introduce parents to SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), an evidence-based treatment program developed by the Yale Child Study Center’s Dr. Eli Lebowitz–which teaches parents how to change their own behavior so they can best support and respond to their child’s anxiety. You can expect to gain confidence in parenting your anxious child, learn how to increase your child’s independence, and help your child better tolerate uncomfortable emotions.