Pediatric Behavioral Health Services
Pediatric Behavioral Health Services includes a team of experienced and licensed child psychiatrists, psychologists, creative art therapists and social workers who provide an array of mental health services to children and their families. It is an integral part of the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic and the Pediatric Day Treatment Program.
What conditions does the Pediatric Behavioral Health team treat?
The Pediatric Behavioral Health Team has expertise in treating children with chronic illnesses including:
- Asthma
- Atopic dermatitis
- Diabetes
- Food allergies
- Immune disorders
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Vocal cord dysfunction
Learn how children and teens cope differently based on their developmental level.
In addition to treating children with chronic illness, the Pediatric Behavioral Health Team provides mental health services to non-ill children and their families for a variety of psychological problems including:
- Acting out behavior
- Anxiety
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Depression
- Family problems
- Learning disabilities
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Parenting difficulties
- Psychological complications associated with chronic illness
- Social isolation
What services are available?
Pediatric Behavioral Health offers many different programs, services, evaluations, and interventions:
- Center For Stress and Anxiety Disorders: Dedicated to identifying and treating the causes of stress and worry in children and teenagers.
- Child Life Program: Dedicated to helping children, teens, and family members cope with illness, treatment, and the overall healthcare experience.
- Evaluations: Our Pediatric Health Services Team performs cognitive assessments, neuropsychological assessments, family evaluations, psychological and other specialized evaluations.
- Interventions : National Jewish offers a variety of personal, family and group intervention services.
- Psychiatric Consultation: A psychiatrist can answer tough questions about diagnosis and treatment options and help you make the best decisions. There are many reasons to consult with a psychiatrist.
Why might I consider Pediatric Behavioral Health Services?
At National Jewish, we understand how seriously chronic illness can impact the emotional welfare of children and their family members. Acute asthma attacks, for instance, may lead to understandable but burdensome fear and worry, and they may interfere with a child’s normal daily activities and the management of their illness. Chronic illness can impact school attendance and generate the need for increased medications.
Sadness over the necessity to give up pets, dropping out of sport activities or not being able to do “overnights” at a friend's home are major losses that children who come to National Jewish often experience. Preteens and adolescents often are unhappy with the need to take daily medications and may have difficulty complying with a prescribed medication regimen. The parent/child interactions around the difficulty of consistently taking medications may cause unfortunate conflict in the home. Your child may be experiencing medical problems that have yet to be accurately diagnosed, which can also contribute to worry about the “unknown”.
We have a variety of services available to help ease these situations. The team at National Jewish routinely works with difficult-to-treat patients. In many cases, treatment and control of the medical illness is much more successful when accompanied by evaluation and treatment by the pediatric psychosocial services team. Our psychosocial team has developed expertise with a brief solution-focused model, and we routinely consult and maintain contact with referring physicians and other health care professionals in home communities.
How can I get a referral?
A parent, guardian, physician or insurance company representative may make referrals to the Pediatric Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic or to our Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders. Our staff can answer your questions about our general services and help you enter our system.
Please call us at 303-398-1260.
National Jewish participates with many insurance carriers and networks. Please call your insurance carrier to authorize your initial visit.
Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinicians
For more information about psychological factors related to chronic illness in children, call the National Jewish Lung Line at 800-222-LUNG (5864).
