Meet Samantha Cohen of Samantha Cohen, MD, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Cohen.

Hi Samantha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Inspired by my father, who is a physician, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor from a young age. With that goal in mind, I worked hard during my educational career. I attended the University of California, Santa Cruz for my undergraduate education. I majored in Psychology, while also completing the required pre-med courses to apply for medical school. I moved to Wisconsin in 2004 to attend medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and received my Medical Degree in 2008.

I returned home to California and completed my Pediatric Residency training through UC San Diego/Rady Children’s Hospital. After residency, I worked as a General Pediatrician for San Ysidro Health Center for a few years before going on to complete a Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics fellowship program at the UC Davis MIND Institute. During fellowship, I was trained to evaluate, diagnose, and provide support for children and teens who learn, think and/or behave differently. As a fellow I also had the opportunity to develop and run a research study looking at the effects of yoga on preschool age children with ADHD symptoms. The results of that study were published in the Journal of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics in 2018.

After graduating from fellowship, I was offered a job with SCPMG (Southern California Permanente Medical Group) as an attending Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician in the John Richards Developmental Clinic (JRDC) at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. I was excited to move back to San Diego with my husband to start my career as a Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician (DBP), and to start our family. I was honored to work in the JRDC with an amazing team of providers and wonderful families for 6.5 years after graduating from fellowship. I learned and grew so much through those valuable experiences, and brought that knowledge and the strong foundation it gave me to starting my own Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics private practice in 2024.

Most recently, I have started working collaboratively with two incredible women whose offices are in Encinitas. I initially met Lara Zawacki, MA, CAGS, PPS, ADHD-CCSP, who is an exceptional Licensed Educational Psychologist and the founder of Education Psychological Services, Inc (https://www.edpsychservices.com). Lara then introduced me to Kendra Pinamonti, MA, LMFT, who is a gifted Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the Clinical Director of Sunshine Inside Therapy (www.sunshineinsidetherapy.com). We collaborate by using our individual areas of expertise in the fields of educational and neuropsychology, psychotherapy, and developmental behavioral pediatrics to provide personalized whole person care across the lifespan. By offering direct referrals and warm handoffs when indicated, we aim to support individuals and families to navigate easily between our complimentary areas of expertise in order to get the best care possible.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning how to start and run a business is not something that physicians are taught to do as part of our medical training. I have learned a lot as part of starting my private practice and continue to grow and learn in this area.

I am passionate about helping to support children and families by providing direct personalized care. In order to provide that type of care as a solo provider I use a cash-based direct care service model. This means that patients are charged directly for the services rendered. I am not contracted with any insurance companies/do not take insurance, which can be a barrier for some families. However, I can provide a superbill at the end of each visit, which families can submit directly to their insurance company for potential reimbursement for services from an out-of-network provider. Reimbursement rates for out-of-network providers can vary between different insurance companies but is typically between 50-80% of the fees that families pay upfront, which is very helpful. Many people are not familiar with using a superbill, so that can also be a barrier to engaging in care. I am always happy to help my patients with the initial process if needed and I provide some helpful information about superbills on my website in the FAQ section (https://www.scdbp.com/faqs) that can be helpful for families to review.

My current fees are $600 per hour (broken down as $60 per 0.1 hour) for in office and telehealth visits. This fee covers the clinical time that I spent with families in consultation, completing developmental-behavioral assessment(s), interpreting the results of questionnaires, reviewing prior assessments/medical records, report writing/clinical documentation, treatment planning, counseling, communicating with other healthcare professionals if needed, etc. In-home assessments and school observations are also available upon request. The fees charged for group visits vary by the type of group and number of participants (see the information about the group you are interested in for more specific details regarding fees). For additional details please see the pricing section of my website: https://www.scdbp.com/pricing

Of note, fees are subject to change and may vary depending on the type of appointment.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
In my Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics private practice, I offer in-person and telehealth appointments for developmental behavioral diagnostic assessments, as well as ongoing care. I see kiddos from birth to 18 years of age, and in some cases will provide care until age 21.

My areas of expertise include autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, developmental delays, and other common co-occurring challenges such as anxiety, difficulties with emotion regulation, social skills support needs, sleep difficulties, and/or picky eating challenges, etc.

I am passionate about providing ongoing care and support for children and their families after receiving a diagnosis. I offer medication consultations and/or medication management when needed, as well as lifestyle medicine recommendations for improving ADHD symptom management. I also enjoy providing support for common co-occurring challenges by providing group based care to patients and their families, so that we can all learn and grow together in a supportive environment. I am proud to be a certified facilitator and/or licensed provider of the following group programs:

Social Skills Programs

– Secret Agent Society Small Group Program: Solving the Mystery of Social Encounters ®: a 22-session evidence-based social skills program for kids ages 8-12 who would benefit from learning key life skills including emotion recognition, emotion regulation, problem-solving skills, as well as social skills for building friendship and interacting effectively with others. The course includes parent and teacher components and has been shown to help prepare kids for life’s social and emotional challenges in a neurodiversity affirming, fun, effective and engaging way.

– PEERS® for Preschoolers: a 16-week evidence-based social skill program designed to teach children between the ages of 4 to 6 years old how to make and keep friends. During the parent-only virtual meetings, parents learn how to coach their child on targeted social skills related to friendship development through didactic lessons, role-play videos, as well as puppet show videos that parents watch with their child as a fun way to assist with teaching the kids the skills for each lesson. Parents are provided resources to practice these skills during weekly homework assignments, and are given feedback on their social coaching. There is also an option to include an in-person group, attended by the child and their parent(s),that focuses on interacting with the puppets and playing games that provide opportunities to practice their skills in a social setting with peers.

ADHD Course

– TEACH ME ADHD: an 8-week ADHD course designed for kids age 8 -12 diagnosed with ADHD and their parents to take together so that they can learn all about ADHD, including healthy habits that support ADHD brains, tools and strategies for nurturing emotional regulation and other executive function skills, as well as a clear understanding of what the families role is, and what elements are needed in a child’s ADHD care plan.

Please refer to my website (https://www.scdbp.com/) for additional information, and feel free to reach out with any questions. If parents are interested in working with me to support your child/teen, the best place to start is by filling out my HIPAA secure New Patient Registration Contact Form (accessible through my website).

I always look forward to welcoming new families into my practice, and love collaborating with parents to optimize their child/teen’s developmental and behavioral trajectory.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are so many amazing people who have helped me along my journey – too many people to name individually. I will share my gratitude for all of these people using broad strokes to make sure that I am not leaving anyone out. I am eternally grateful for my teachers, attendings, and colleagues who have served as mentors and have been inspiring role models for me. My biggest cheerleaders and advocates have been my family and friends. Their support over the years has played an invaluable role in helping me to continue to follow my dreams.

Pricing:

• $600/hour (broken down as $60 per 0.1 hour) for in office and telehealth visits
• This fee covers the clinical time that I spent with families in consultation, completing developmental-behavioral assessment(s), interpreting the results of questionnaires, reviewing prior assessments/medical records, report writing/clinical documentation, treatment planning, counseling, communicating with other healthcare professionals if needed, etc.
• In-home assessments and school observations are also available upon request. The fees charged for group visits vary by the type of group and number of participants (see the information about the group you are interested in for more specific details regarding fees).
• For example, the SAS Small Group Program Fees are as follows: $500: 2-hour Intake Interview and Information Session (with parents and child) $175: Per 90-minute combined child and parent group meeting (weekly for 18 weeks + 4 follow-up meetings over the following 6 months = 22 meetings total) $75: Per 45-minute virtual parent only group meetings (5 meetings total) Private (1:1) child and parent meetings with Dr. Cohen are available upon request at $250/meeting
• For additional details please see the pricing section of my website: https://www.scdbp.com/pricing

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.scdbp.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samantha_cohen_md_inc
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/61557211011000 [Business Profile Name: Samantha Cohen, MD, Inc. ]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-cohen-9513522b0/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/samantha-cohen-md-san-diego