Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has been an integral part of UMMC for over 25 years, providing inpatient, outpatient and consult-liaison services that support a network of clinical training and psychiatric research programs. The program reflects a balanced emphasis on neurobiology, development, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.

Inpatient program

The child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship offers a wide range of inpatient experiences, including the UMMC children's inpatient unit,  a private and for-profit acute psychiatric hospital, a not-for-profit residential treatment center, a private and for-profit residential treatment center, and an inpatient private and not-for-profit substance abuse residential Unit.

The UMMC child and adolescent psychiatry's inpatient program serves ages 5-12 in need of acute psychiatric hospitalization. The program provides acute crisis intervention and stabilization, comprehensive diagnostic evaluation and treatment planning for initial and recurrent psychiatric disorders, and consultation by pediatric, genetic, surgical, nutritional and other specialists.

Multidisciplinary teams consisting of child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, special educators, occupational and recreational therapists, and speech and language pathologists coordinate and manage care. The teams have expertise in assessing and managing suicidal risk, disruptive behaviors, and psychotic symptoms, along with complex diagnostic and psychosocial issues.

Treatment often includes individual, group and family therapy; behavior therapy with parent guidance; pharmacotherapy, educational programs; and occupational and recreational therapy. As a tertiary care center, the inpatient program also provides specialized treatments for the most severe forms of psychopathology in children.

Outpatient program

Our outpatient program consists of clinics that provides a spectrum of services for children and adolescents with a broad range of behavioral, emotional and learning difficulties. Children with a wide range of psychopathology are seen, including attention-deficit and disruptive behavior disorders, learning and communication disorders, and anxiety and mood disorders, tic and stereotypic movement disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, eating disorders, alcohol and other substance related disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and problems related to abuse, neglect, divorce, and other stressful events.

Fellows also rotate at several for profit and not-for-profit agencies that involve fellows in the treatment of children in day treatment programs, wrap-around services and community mental health centers with several sites using telepsychiatry to extend care to underserved communities.

Consultation-liaison program

The consultation-liaison program provides consultation-liaison services to pediatric inpatients at UMMC and to students at local elementary schools using telepsychiatry. Referrals are made to the program for pediatric inpatients with depression, suicidal behavior, delirium and substance-related disorders, somatoform and factitious disorders, and psychological factors affecting a medical condition. Interdisciplinary conferences bring together clinicians from Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics, Pediatric Psychology and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.