Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Services include diagnostic evaluations and medication management for a wide variety of mental health issues for children between the ages of 4 & 17 years old with occasional exceptions to assess younger children in consultation with their Pediatricians.
The array of mental health issues include problems such as:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — including attention problems without hyperactivity
- Behavioral Problems that are not responsive to counseling services alone
- Anxiety Disorders including separation anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, and post-traumatic disorder related to child maltreatment and other traumas
- Tourettes/Tic Disorders
- Mood Disorders including both depressive and manic (bipolar) disorders
- Self-injurious behaviors & suicidal thoughts
- Childhood hallucinations, paranoia and other psychotic symptoms
- Behavioral/mood/other symptoms in children with Autism/Aspergers
- Mood/anxiety/other symptoms in children with Substance Abuse problems
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Providers will provide you with information about diagnoses as well as provide you with information on the benefits and risks of any medications that they recommend. They generally strive to utilize the lowest effective doses of medications and limit children's exposures to medications by using them for the shortest time periods generally recommended depending on individual circumstances. They will also make referrals to other professionals and services, if not already established, such as counseling/therapy, psychological testing for learning disorders and cognitive difficulties, autism spectrum disorder testing, chemical dependency evaluations and treatment, eating disorder evaluations and treatment, and sleep studies.
