Little Dove Psychology offers virtual pediatric health psychology across Texas for kids and teens living with a chronic medical condition, including congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, asthma, food allergies, chronic pain, IBD, sickle cell, and cancer survivorship. The work is led by Dr. Kristin Kroll, PhD, former attending psychologist for the cystic fibrosis clinic and the pediatric heart transplant team at Children's Wisconsin, and our clinicians are in network with Aetna, BCBS of Texas, and Optum/UnitedHealthcare.
Free 15-Minute Consultations • Virtual Across Texas and the PSYPACT States • Most Families Start the Same Week, Evenings and Weekends Available • In Network with Aetna, BCBS of Texas, Optum & Oscar
Yes. A pediatric psychologist treats the emotional and behavioral side of living with a medical condition: the worry before every clinic visit, the kid who is sick of doing treatments, the teen who stops telling anyone how she feels because everyone already seems so tired. Chronic illness raises the odds of anxiety and depression in kids, and it strains the whole family. Therapy gives the child practical coping skills and gives parents a plan, so the diagnosis takes up less room in daily life.
At Little Dove Psychology, this work is virtual across Texas and the other PSYPACT participating states, with sessions from home so a child who is fatigued, immunocompromised, or between hospital stays does not have to add another trip. Every family starts with a free 15-minute phone consultation with Dr. Kroll, and most families start the same week.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation or call or text (512) 240-2633.
Treatment is built around the child's condition, age, and what is getting in the way right now. The most common focus areas are:
We use evidence-based approaches (cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure, relaxation and coping skills training, and behavioral parent coaching) and track progress with validated measures at intake and every four weeks. You can read more about that on our measuring progress page.
The most common referral a pediatric psychologist gets from a medical team is a child who cannot get through a blood draw, an injection, a port access, or an MRI without a fight, and a family that dreads every appointment because of it. Needle phobia and procedure anxiety respond well to treatment: cognitive behavioral therapy with gradual, planned exposure, coping skills the child practices before the appointment rather than during it, and coaching for parents on what to say in the room and what to leave out. Most of that work can be done over video, with the child at home and the medical team kept in the loop.
Families of medically complex children, kids with a congenital heart condition, cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, cancer, or a GI or autoimmune condition, often reach us after asking an AI assistant or a search engine for a "psychiatrist" for a needle-phobic child. A note on that: a psychiatrist prescribes; a psychologist treats the fear itself. Little Dove does not prescribe, and when medication or sedation is part of the plan we coordinate with your pediatrician or specialist. What we provide is the behavioral treatment that makes the next procedure go differently.
Dr. Kroll's clinical background is in exactly this population: attending psychologist for a cystic fibrosis clinic and for a pediatric heart transplant team at Children's Wisconsin, and today a counseling partner to the Heartfelt Dreams Foundation for families living with congenital heart defects. Tell us about the diagnosis on the free consultation, and we will build the plan around it.
Before opening Little Dove Psychology, Dr. Kristin Kroll trained as a pediatric psychologist at Children's Wisconsin and held an academic appointment at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She spent years working alongside medical teams (pediatricians, oncologists, GI specialists, neurologists), supporting kids and families through some of the hardest moments of their lives. The peer-reviewed publications from that period are collected in her full research and publication record.
That training shapes how Little Dove works with medically complex kids today. Most therapists who treat anxiety, depression, family communication, and emotion regulation in young people have only seen those issues from the outpatient side. Dr. Kroll has seen them from inside hospitals, in families facing real medical crises, and in kids whose worlds had been turned upside down. The depth and pace of that training translates into practical, on-a-Tuesday-night recommendations that parents can actually use.
Little Dove Psychology focuses on five core areas where good therapy makes the biggest difference for kids, teens, and college students:
The hospital training shows up across these areas. Anxiety after a medical event. Depression that came alongside a chronic illness. Family conflict about how to support a kid who has been through something hard. Emotion regulation for kids whose nervous systems have been worn thin by the medical system.
Yes. Needle phobia and procedure anxiety are among the most treatable problems we see. The approach is cognitive behavioral therapy with gradual exposure, practiced between appointments so the skills are ready on the day, plus parent coaching for the room itself. Sessions are virtual across Texas and the other PSYPACT participating states, and with your consent we coordinate with the child's medical team. Little Dove does not prescribe; a psychologist treats the fear, and we coordinate with your pediatrician when medication or sedation is part of the plan.
Pediatric health psychology is a specialty within psychology focused on the emotional and behavioral health of children living with medical conditions: how kids cope with chronic illness, manage procedures, handle hospitalizations, and adjust to a diagnosis. Pediatric health psychologists are typically trained inside children's hospitals and work alongside medical teams.
Congenital heart conditions, cystic fibrosis, type 1 diabetes, asthma, food allergies, chronic pain, IBD and other GI conditions, cancer survivorship, sickle cell, autoimmune conditions, post-concussion, eating concerns tied to a medical issue, and medical anxiety or procedural distress. We also support kids adjusting to a new diagnosis or moving to adult care.
Yes. Pediatric health psychology is a regular part of our caseload, led by Dr. Kristin Kroll, PhD: needle phobia and procedure anxiety, adjustment to a new diagnosis, treatment fatigue, school re-entry, and anxiety or depression that arrived with a medical condition. Sessions are virtual across Texas and the other PSYPACT participating states.
Yes. Our clinicians are in network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and Optum/UnitedHealthcare (including Oscar plans administered by Optum), and we match you with a clinician your plan covers on the free consultation. We do not accept Medicaid or CHIP. Self-pay families can use HSA or FSA funds, and we provide a superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
Yes. With your written consent, we talk directly with your child's pediatrician, specialists, care coordinators, and school staff so the psychological plan and the medical plan line up. Coordination matters most around procedures, treatment changes, hospital discharges, and school accommodations.
Yes, and for many medically complex kids it works better than in-person care. There is no waiting room and no infection exposure, sessions can happen from bed during a flare, and a missed school day does not have to mean a missed session. Dr. Kroll helped launch the telehealth mental health program at Children's Wisconsin and published research on group video therapy for teens with cystic fibrosis, who cannot share a room because of infection risk. Your child needs to be located in Texas or another PSYPACT participating state during the session.
Yes. Anxiety in kids who are also living with a health condition is exactly the work Dr. Kroll trained for. Treatment focuses on the anxiety itself, with the medical context built into the plan: upcoming procedures, symptoms that can look like worry, and the real limits the condition sets.
No referral is required to begin. We do encourage close communication with your child's medical team, and with your written consent we coordinate care with pediatricians, specialists, and school personnel.
