Bridging the Gap for Families, Therapists, Schools, and Healthcare Professionals Navigating PANS/PANDAS

If you’ve found your way here, chances are you’re trying to help a child whose symptoms seemed to appear out of nowhere. Perhaps they suddenly developed severe OCD, anxiety, school refusal, eating restrictions, emotional outbursts, or dramatic behavioral changes. Whatever brought you here, something about the case doesn’t quite fit the presentations you are used to seeing, and you’re trying to figure out what to do next.

The reality is that most mental health professionals, educators, and healthcare providers received little to no formal training on PANS/PANDAS or neuroimmune mental health conditions. Yet these cases continue to show up in our offices, schools, hospitals, and communities. Families are often left piecing together fragmented information while desperately searching for answers. Clinicians are doing their best to help while trying to determine what warrants referral and how to separate credible information from misinformation.

This is precisely why I developed consultation & training services for PANS/PANDAS & neuroimmune presentations.

The children affected by PANS/PANDAS are often incredibly sick. Their families are exhausted. And the professionals trying to help them are frequently working without the training, resources, or support they need to confidently navigate these cases.

I believe the stakes are too high for families to be left piecing together information on their own, and for professionals to feel like they have to guess.

My goal is to provide a credible, evidence-based resource that helps clinicians, schools, agencies, and healthcare professionals feel more confident supporting these children and connecting families to appropriate care.

My role is not to diagnose medical conditions or replace medical care. My role is to help bridge the gap on the mental health side of treatment as a part of an interdisciplinary team. I provide evidence-based consultation, training, and practical guidance to therapists, schools, agencies, and teams who want support navigating these complex presentations responsibly and ethically.

Together, we can identify red flags, discuss referral pathways, review current research, and develop practical next steps that help children and families access appropriate care sooner.

As an IOCDF-trained OCD specialist, consultant, educator, advocate, and member of the MIND Global Council Strategic Initiatives Team, I am committed to helping professionals navigate this landscape with confidence, clarity, and clinical integrity.

Consultation Services Offered

Individual Therapist Consultation

You’re sitting with a child whose symptoms don’t quite fit the patterns you’ve seen before. Perhaps the parents are asking questions about PANS/PANDAS, infection-triggered symptoms, Lyme disease, or neuroimmune conditions. Maybe you’re wondering whether this belongs on your differential, what referrals should be considered, or how to support the family without stepping outside your scope of practice.

You don’t need to become a PANS expert overnight.

You just need someone who understands this landscape and can help you think through the case in front of you.

During our consultation, we’ll review the child’s presentation, discuss assessment considerations, identify potential red flags, and develop a roadmap for referrals, treatment planning, and next steps. My goal is to help you feel more confident, informed, and supported as you navigate these challenging cases.

Consultations include access to practitioner-facing resources, including the PANS/PANDAS Assessment & Treatment Flowchart and Intake & Referral Guide.

60-Minute Consultation: $200

Therapists are welcome to invite colleagues and cost-share if multiple clinicians would benefit from the discussion.

School Consultation & Educational Support

Imagine a student who was thriving just a few months ago.

Now they’re experiencing severe anxiety, OCD symptoms, emotional outbursts, sensory challenges, eating difficulties, school avoidance, or dramatic fluctuations in functioning. Teachers are confused. Parents are overwhelmed. The student is suffering. And the school team is left trying to determine whether what they’re seeing is behavioral, psychiatric, educational, medical, or some combination of all four.

I provide consultation and training for school teams seeking practical guidance on supporting students with suspected or diagnosed PANS/PANDAS. This work may include participation in 504 and IEP planning, accommodation recommendations, staff education, crisis planning, school refusal support, and collaboration with families and outside providers.

My goal is to help teams better understand symptom-driven behavior, reduce misinterpretation of symptoms, and create environments that support regulation, learning, and student success.

All trainings include practitioner-facing tools and resources and can be delivered virtually or in person.

👉 Request School In-Servcice Consultation by emailing therapy@barbshepardcounseling.com

Agency & Group Practice Consultation

Many agencies are seeing an increase in referrals involving severe OCD, ARFID, school refusal, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and medically complex presentations. Clinicians are hearing terms like PANS, PANDAS, neuroinflammation, and neuroimmune disorders more frequently than ever before, yet most training programs have provided little guidance on how to navigate these concerns within a mental health setting.

As a result, even highly skilled clinicians are often left wondering what they should be screening for, when referrals may be appropriate, how to stay within scope, and how to support families without inadvertently contributing to confusion or misinformation.

I provide customized consultation and training designed to help agencies bridge this gap. Trainings can be tailored to the needs of your organization and may include clinical education, case consultation, assessment and referral pathways, treatment planning considerations, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical guidance for supporting families navigating complex presentations.

All trainings include practitioner-facing tools and resources and can be delivered virtually or in person.

👉 Request Agency Consultation by emailing therapy@barbshepardcounseling.com

On-Demand Webinar

Understanding PANS/PANDAS: A Research-Informed Clinical Overview

For those looking for a deeper dive than the PDF guide above, this 1 hour 50 minute on-demand webinar provides a comprehensive, research-informed overview of PANS/PANDAS through the lens of a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). PANS/PANDAS are diagnoses that sit at the intersection of medical care and psychological care. This webinar focuses on understanding the literature and clinical consensus guidelines on the treatment of these diagnoses.

What We Cover:

History and evolution of PANS/PANDAS as diagnoses

Diagnostic symptoms and differential diagnosis (PANS OCD vs. non-PANS OCD)

In-depth overview of biology, immune dysfunction, and neuroinflammation

Review of medical and behavioral health literature and clinical consensus recommendations

School accommodations and classroom support

Caregiver burden and family impact

Current and ongoing research, including biomarker studies

Mental health professionals, physicians, school staff, occupational therapists, parents, caregivers, or anyone else seeking a foundational understanding of PANS/PANDAS will benefit from this training.

Includes: 119-slide PDF and on-demand access to Webinar via Zoom platform.
Investment: $99 — watch at your own pace.

Community Engagement

On October 9, 2025, I organized Syracuse’s first-ever participation in World PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day, joining more than 220 landmarks across the globe in raising awareness for children and families affected by these conditions. The National Grid building lit up green in support of the PANS/PANDAS community, and educators, pediatric and mental health providers, parents, advocates, and children gathered together for a powerful moment of visibility, connection, and hope.

Standing in that space and listening to families share their stories, I was struck by how many people described the same experience: years spent searching for answers, navigating fragmented systems, advocating for their children, and feeling profoundly alone. The relief people expressed at simply being seen reinforced that families cannot do this alone, and our systems still have significant work to do.

In response to the growing need for education, collaboration, and advocacy, I expanded my practice to include specialized PANS/PANDAS consultation, training, and professional education services. Since then, I have had the privilege of training hundreds of New York State therapists through continuing education programs, consulting with clinicians and agencies across disciplines, and helping build greater awareness of neuroimmune mental health conditions throughout our region.

I have also worked alongside advocates, healthcare professionals, educators, policymakers, and families to advance conversations about access to care, educational supports, and insurance coverage. This work has included contributing to renewed legislative efforts aimed at improving insurance access for affected families, and meeting with members of the executive branch to advocate for improved public resources and visibility.

Today, I am proud to serve as a member of the MIND Global Council Strategic Initiatives Team, collaborating with an international network of clinicians, researchers, and advocates committed to improving care for children affected by neuroimmune conditions worldwide. Through that work, I have the opportunity to bring emerging research, clinical perspectives, and global collaboration back to New York State and the families I serve.

My commitment is simple: to continue advocating, educating, and building bridges wherever they are needed. Whether you’re a family in Central New York, somewhere else in the United States, or halfway across the world, every child deserves access to informed providers and every family deserves to be taken seriously.

This work knows no borders.

And I will continue doing everything I can to help ensure that families facing these challenges feel less alone, better supported, and more connected to the care they deserve.

Ready to get started?

Whether you’re a parent seeking guidance, a therapist navigating a complex case, or a school aiming to better support students, I’m here to help. My coaching and consulting services are designed to provide clarity, resources, and practical strategies so families and professionals can confidently navigate PANS/PANDAS. As a parent who has personally navigated the complexities of the medical system for my own family, I deeply understand the challenges families face when trying to find appropriate care for their child. I operate with a heart-forward approach and am truly here to help in any way I can.

Reach out today to schedule a session or learn more: therapy@barbshepardcounseling.com.