Complex & Specialty Care
When Answers Aren’t Simple
Helping children, adolescents, and families navigate complex medical, emotional, and mind-body conditions with understanding, compassion, and curiosity.
I see you. I hear you. I believe you.
I may not have all the answers right now, but we can figure this out together.
I appreciate the privilege of walking alongside patients and families as we work together with healthcare providers, schools, and communities to better understand complex challenges and identify meaningful next steps.
Understanding
Taking time to understand the full picture before jumping to conclusions.
Compassion
Creating space for experiences that may have been overlooked, dismissed, or misunderstood.
Curiousity
Approaching complex symptoms with openness, collaboration, and a willingness to keep learning.
Listening. Trust. Believing.
Some of the most important lessons in Dr. Rafferty’s career have come from patients and families navigating complex and often misunderstood conditions. Their experiences continue to shape her understanding of the relationship between the mind, body, healthcare systems, and the importance of truly listening.
These conversations reflect a shared commitment to curiosity, collaboration, and the belief that every person’s story deserves to be heard.
Shared with permission. While this content is publicly available, it is included here with full consent and respect for the individuals’ story. Any clinical insights are intended for general educational purposes and may not be generalizable to other cases.
These conversations offer a closer look at the lived experiences that continue to shape Dr. Rafferty’s approach to complex care.
From Dismissal to Discovery: A Patient’s Journey with the Undiagnosed Disease
A patient and family share their journey through complex illness and medical uncertainty, alongside Dr. Rafferty’s approach grounded in listening, trust, and believing.
Phoebe’s Story: A Medical Mystery
Featured on Symptomatic: A Medical Mystery Podcast
This podcast highlights the experience of a mother and daughter navigating years of medical uncertainty, unanswered questions, and the emotional toll of not being believed. It also reflects Dr. Rafferty’s growth as a
psychologist, as she came to understand just how complex the mind and body can be, and learned the importance of slowing down, listening more deeply, and trusting the expertise that patients and families hold about
their own lived experience.
FND Warrior Support &
Advocacy Webinar
This educational webinar shares the lived experience of an individual living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). Topics include medical dismissal, understanding FND, navigating healthcare systems, the impact of language and validation, self-advocacy, and finding hope in the midst of uncertainty.
One message that resonated deeply was:
“Words matter more than people realize.
One sentence can either create hope
or create more trauma.”
Content Note: This webinar includes discussion of significant negative experiences within healthcare settings, including medical dismissal, trauma, and patient advocacy following harmful interactions with medical professionals. Some viewers may find portions of this discussion emotionally difficult.
Presented by Roxie and RISE: FND Warrior Support, this resource offers education, encouragement, and lived experience for individuals and families navigating FND.
Specialty Diagnostic Clarification & Consultation
When you need more than a standard intake.
612-767-9860
Some children, adolescents, and families face concerns that are complex, overlapping, or difficult to understand. Symptoms may involve emotional health, physical health, school functioning, healthcare systems, family stress, or multiple diagnoses.
Rather than moving directly into ongoing therapy, some families benefit from a structured consultation process designed to better understand the full picture, identify priorities, and develop a clear plan for next steps.
This Service May Be Helpful If:
- You are struggling to understand how multiple diagnoses fit together.
- You have received conflicting recommendations from different providers.
- Your child is experiencing significant functional impairment at home, school, or in the community.
- Medical, psychological, educational, and family concerns appear interconnected.
- You are seeking diagnostic clarification, education, and treatment recommendations before beginning ongoing services.
What to Expect
Step 1: Comprehensive Intake & Diagnostic Clarification
90-minute consultation
This session focuses on understanding the full picture and may include:
- Detailed history gathering
- Review of emotional, behavioral, medical, educational, and family systems concerns
- Assessment of strengths, barriers, and functional impact
- Exploration of diagnostic considerations
- Information gathering to support clinical formulation
Step 2: Feedback & Recommendations
90-minute consultation
This session focuses on:
- Review of diagnostic impressions and clinical formulation
- Psychoeducation
- Discussion of treatment recommendations and priorities
- School and systems recommendations
- Referral recommendations when appropriate
- Development of a recommended next-step plan
The consultation process is intentionally divided into two sessions to allow time for reflection, integration of information, and thoughtful clinical formulation.
Fees
Comprehensive Intake & Diagnostic Clarification
90 minutes — $350
Feedback & Recommendations
90 minutes — $350
Additional Professional Services
Record review, written recommendations, care coordination, school consultation, medical collaboration, meeting attendance, and related professional services are billed at $250 per hour, prorated in 15-minute increments.
This service is private pay and is not billed to insurance.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Not sure whether consultation or therapy is the best fit?
Please reach email Dr. Jade at j.rafferty@hopepsychologypractice.com and we can discuss which service may best meet your needs.
