We provide in-house mental health services, through the Farley-Manning Family Guidance Service (FGS), for children who have not yet reached their twelfth birthday. Once a treatment relationship is established, we continue as long as necessary even if children turn 12. We do not begin services with children 12 or older.

The Lucy Daniels School’s early childhood and elementary programs serve children in preschool through fifth grade.

Our SecurePath program, in partnership with Wake County Smart Start, serves low-income children up to age 5 in their home or childcare setting.

We do not provide medication management as a stand-alone service. However, we manage medication for children who are under our general care and for whom we recommend medication as part of a comprehensive approach. When indicated, medication management is provided by our Director of Medical Services, Dr. Sindhura Kunaparaju. Many children come to us already receiving medication. In those situations, we develop a treatment plan after our assessment, and decide with parents about how best to proceed. We often assume the medication management although sometimes the physician who has been prescribing the medication continues in that role.

We accept common insurance plans, including Aetna, BCBS, Carolina HealthChoice, Cigna, Magellan, Medicaid, and United Behavioral Health. As a courtesy to our clients, we file insurance claims.

Most often, we are able to offer a first appointment within two weeks of receipt of the Request for Consultation. Occasionally our waiting lists are longer and it takes more time to schedule that first appointment. We always inform families if we anticipate a wait beyond two weeks. We try to meet for the first appointment within one week if the child is 5 years of age or younger, and within a day or two if the situation is urgent.

We have limited early evening hours. We currently do not have weekend hours.

We are an appropriate resource when a family wants educational or ADHD testing and is concerned that there may be an emotional component to their child’s challenges. Our approach with ADHD is to understand the reasons for the symptoms, not just to determine whether a child meets criteria for the diagnosis. We are not an appropriate resource if a family wishes to determine if their child qualifies for an ADHD diagnosis for purposes of school planning or medication.

Our school program is designed for children whose social and emotional challenges are at the forefront of the difficulties for success in school. Sometimes, these children also have learning disabilities. Our specialized staff is typically able to provide the additional support that these children need in the classroom.

We frequently work with children that have mild autistic features. We do not offer the specialized programs needed by children with moderate to severe autism.

We are always working with parents as part of our help to any child. Parents can expect to receive counseling and guidance and to be a very active participant in the mental health care that we provide in our preschool/kindergarten, elementary grades, FGS, or SecurePath.

Services from our SecurePath Program are free to families who qualify.

Services in FGS are either determined by the insurance plan, in which case families are responsible for deductibles and co-insurance (except for families covered by Medicaid who do not have any out-of-pocket expense.) Families without health insurance are eligible for fee reductions according to an income-based scale.

Services in our preschool and kindergarten programs are all offered with need-based scholarships for families who qualify. We currently do not offer scholarships for our elementary grades.