Juliana Lockman MD

Meet Juliana Lockman, MD

juliana-lockman-mdDr. Juliana Lockman directs the Functional Neurologic Symptom Disorder (FND) track at La Selva. She works in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, where she is Clinical Assistant Professor in Neuropsychiatry. She completed residencies in both Neurology at the University of Virginia and Psychiatry at Stanford Hospital & Clinics. Her professional goals include developing effective therapies and improving access to care for clients with FND and related disorders.

forestThe Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Track is a specialized treatment track within La Selva’s state-of-the-art residential, partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient programs (IOP). Residential clients live in the La Selva house in Palo Alto while attending the program. PHP/IOP clients attend on an outpatient basis, 3-5 days per week, averaging 8-10 weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Formerly known as conversion disorder, FND is characterized by neurologic symptoms incompatible with an established neurologic or medical illness. Symptoms may include psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, abnormal movements, paralysis and speech changes. The diagnosis of FND is made by a neurologist by way of clinical exam, neuroimaging and/or neurophysiological testing.

All clients participate in standard psychosocial programming with additional FND-specific client/family psychoeducation, individual and group therapy and physical/occupational therapy services where applicable. Clients are under the compassionate care of a neuropsychiatrist and staff who are specially trained in understanding the unique needs of this client population.

For residential admissions, contact Emily Gray at 650-323-1401 to discuss and obtain a referral packet. For PHP/IOP, contact Brenna Connolly at 650-617-8349 or email bconnolly@momentummh.org. All programs require prior Neurology evaluation with documentation indicating diagnosis of FND/conversion disorder, client demographics, psychiatry/clinical notes, medication list and insurance information.

For residential, the turnaround time typically depends on how quickly the packet is complete (including cleared TB and physician’s report) and the census at the time of packet receipt. For PHP/IOP, we try to accommodate new clients within 3-5 days.

For residential, clients must be ambulatory. Currently, the La Selva house is not ADA accessible, so wheelchairs are not permitted. Walkers can be discussed with the director of residential admissions. The PHP/IOP facility is ADA accessible. Clients may have wheelchairs or walkers but will need to be independent without staff’s help with ambulation.

Residential contracts with Anthem Blue Cross, MHN, Magellan, Blue Shield, Value Options, Healthnet (with single case agreement only), United Healthcare/Behavioral Health (Optum), Aetna, Cigna and Kaiser (if referred by Kaiser). The PHP/IOP program is not able to accommodate Kaiser insurance. Medicare and Medicaid are not accepted.