Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in The Woodlands
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in The Woodlands
When you feel that something is wrong with your child, the hardest part is often not knowing what kind of help you need. A teacher has raised a concern. Your pediatrician has suggested an evaluation. Mornings have become a fight, or your teenager has stopped being someone you recognize. You are not trying to get a diagnosis. You are trying to understand what is happening and what to do next.
We offer child and adolescent psychiatry in The Woodlands with Dr. Kendall Clayton, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, supporting families of children of all ages.
Training & background
Kendall Clayton, MD
Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatrist
Dr. Kendall Clayton is a native Texan. She earned her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine after graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Spanish, and completed both her psychiatry residency and her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, the subspecialty training in how children and teenagers develop and how families fit into treatment, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
She has a particular interest in supporting development in young children and in healthy parenting practices, and has completed additional training in Parent Child Interaction Therapy, an evidence-based approach that works with parent and child together. She also utilizes cognitive behavioral therapy and psychodynamic therapy techniques in sessions with families.
Dr. Clayton lives in The Woodlands with her husband and their two young children.
Anxiety, Poor focus, Depressed mood, Sleep concerns, Anger, Behavioral problems, School challenges, Social difficulty
What Brings Families to Us
Parents most often reach out about:
Poor Focus
Depressed Mood
Sleep Concerns
You do not need to arrive knowing what is wrong. Working that out is the appointment.
Conditions We Treat
What the First Appointment Is Like
A first psychiatric evaluation with Dr. Clayton lasts up to 90 minutes. The appointment begins with the parents and the child together, then allows individual time for the child to share their concerns, and brings the parents back at the end to discuss treatment planning. If desired, parents can request individual time with Dr. Clayton as well. It is a deep dive into your child's emotional and medical history, longer than a standard medical appointment, and most of it is conversation.
You will typically leave with an understanding of what Dr. Clayton thinks is going on and a plan for what happens next.
On Medication
Many parents arrive worried about exactly one thing, and it is usually not the diagnosis. It is whether the answer will be medication.
Child psychiatry is not a synonym for medication. A psychiatric evaluation is an assessment, not a prescription. Some children do benefit from medication, and for many the plan that follows is therapy, school accommodations, or working with parents. Treatment planning is personalized, with or without medication.
When medication is part of a plan, Dr. Clayton will explain what she is recommending and why, what to watch for, and what the alternatives are. Prescriptions go to your preferred pharmacy, follow-up appointments are scheduled, and dosages are adjusted as needed.
You are not agreeing to anything permanent at the first visit, and you are not agreeing to anything you do not understand.
Our Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
Idalia Ashford, PMHNP-BC
Ages 13 and up
Amber Pyles, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C
Ages 13 and up
Therapy Alongside Psychiatric Care
Children often do best when psychiatric care and therapy work together. Dr. Clayton offers therapy herself, for children of any age, for parents, or for both. We also have therapists on staff who work with young patients, including counselors who see children from age seven and others who work specifically with teenagers.
If therapy is part of your child's plan, it can happen in the same practice, which means the people treating your child can actually talk to one another.
Our Therapists
Ages 7 and up
Ages 12 and up
Ages 13 and up
Ages 14 and up
Ages 14 and up
Ages 14 and up
Ages 15 and up
ADHD Testing
Dr. Clayton will complete a thorough clinical evaluation of your child to assess symptoms of ADHD.
If additional testing is needed, we offer QbCheck, a 20 minute at-home FDA-cleared computer test that helps in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD.
About QbCheck
Our Office
Care is provided in person at our office in The Woodlands. For follow up appointments, families are invited to choose from in person or telehealth sessions.
LifeSpring Behavioral Health
1400 Woodloch Forest Dr, Suite 575
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Insurance and Payment
We do not file with insurance. To keep appointments longer than a standard visit, we work on a self-pay basis and give you a receipt with everything you need to file for possible out-of-network benefits if you wish. Flex and HSA cards are accepted.
We would rather you know this before you book.
Request an Appointment
If you would like to book an evaluation for your child, call 281-528-1523 or complete the form below.
If You Need Help Right Now
This page is not for emergencies. If your child is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. If you or your child are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or other emergent safety concerns, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, day or night.