Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic is an interdisciplinary, outpatient training facility providing diagnostic evaluation and treatment services to children and adolescents (through the age of 18) and their families referred from the community and departments of Upstate Medical University.

The Clinic's faculty and complement of trainees represent the disciplines of:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical psychology
• Psychiatric social work

Trainees are involved in the delivery of clinical services to patients, supervision of which is provided by faculty members of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Where/When

The Clinic maintains facilities on the first and second floors of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Building (PBS) at 713 Harrison Street. Directions Clinic facilities including waiting rooms, secretarial areas, playrooms, office-type interview and playrooms, conference room, and a one-way observation suite.

Clinic hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Referrals

Referrals to the Clinic may originate from other departments in Upstate Medical University and from the community at large. There are no geographical limitations to the area served, though prospective patients living within the service area of a similar resource may be referred to that organization.

Referring agencies and professionals are requested to advise patients to call the Clinic directly themselves. Preliminary screening over the phone by the social work staff assesses the request for aid and an intake appointment is scheduled or other appropriate community resources are suggested.

The Services/Treatments

The Clinic furnishes outpatient services to a wide variety of patients covering the spectrum of ages, problems and referral sources. Evaluation and treatment services provided to patients include a range of relevant diagnostic procedures and treatment modalities.

Evaluations are conducted by interdisciplinary diagnostic teams or by individual trainees. Evaluations may span a period of 3-4 weeks and may include:

• Family interviews
• Conjoint interviews with parents
• Individual interviews with a parent
• Interviews with the child or adolescent
• Psychological testing
• School and home visits
• Conferences with school and other community agencies involved in the case

Evaluations are completed with a summary interview(s) with parents in which the results and recommendations of the evaluation are discussed. When appropriate, the summary interview may include the child or adolescent, or a separate summary interview may be scheduled for him.

Treatment services offered through the Clinic include various individual psychotherapies with children and adolescents, individual and conjoint psychotherapy with parents, and family therapy. Short-term or time-limited psychotherapy with children and/or parents are used when the presenting problems and the nature of the case warrant the use of these modes of treatment.