The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department provides a wide range of services to children, teens and their families. The professional staff is multi-disciplined and consists of child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage, family and child counselors and psychiatric nurses. Our support staff consists of full-time and part-time receptionists and a department secretary.

The services provided within the unit are program oriented. All the staff coordinate efforts to provide both access and quality treatment to our client population. The services provided by our program, per our referral process, include:

• Emergency and crisis intervention during business hours by our program staff and after hours through the Regional Psychiatric Call Center.

• Triage/on-call system to assess and recommend the type of evaluation; inpatient hospitalization, drop-in, urgent, high priority or routine. A recommendation may be made to various groups, parenting classes or teen crisis.

• Intensive Outpatient program (I.O.P.) uses intervention to prevent hospitalization and re-hospitalization.

• Individual, family and group therapy.

• Group programs for children and teens based on developmental ages, issues and clinical needs. Groups are open-access, drop-in or time limited. Most group programs require parent participation.

• Psycho-educational parenting groups: Preschool, School Age, and Spanish speaking.

• Parent/child specialty groups: Families in Transition (separation/divorce issues), Anger Management and Depression.

• Special Services/Programs: Teen Crisis Program, IOP, ADHD Program, Eating Disorder Program. Programs jointly with other departments: Teen Clinic, ADHD, Chemical Dependency, and Shapedown for pediatric/teen obesity.

• Medication evaluation, information, follow-up and cae management.

• Psychological testing.

• Consultation services to the emergency room, hospital and medical departments.

• Education and training.

• Information and referral.

From 8:30am to 5:30pm, Monday through Friday, all requests for treatment/services are triaged by an on-call therapist and recommendations made as to the appropriate treatment. Advice and information are also provided, such as articles, book lists, videos and specific interventions. After 5:30pm and on weekends and holidays, the staff provides consultation to the Regional Psychiatric Call Center for emergencies.