Stony Brook's renowned Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division (Judith A. Crowell, MD, Division Director) provides four major clinical services: inpatient care at the only academic medical institution on Long Island to provide inpatient child psychiatry services; outpatient evaluation and treatment of children with psychiatric disorders; consultation to Stony Brook Children's Hospital for children on the pediatric units; and consultation liaison with schools through Eastern and Western Suffolk BOCES programs.
Inpatient Care
For children ages 5 through 12 with serious psychiatric disorders, we can provide 24-hour inpatient services in our 10-bed, locked unit. Children receive a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, medications and other appropriate therapeutic interventions, which may include behavior management programs and therapeutic recreation along with educational services through the BOCES program. A core component of treatment is parent training to reinforce inpatient treatment, better manage the child, and give parents a new set of coping skills. The inpatient team includes a psychiatrist (Samuel Gartner, MD, Medical Director), psychologist (Darla Broberg, PhD), social worker (Angela Denton, LCSW), registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants.
Unique to Long Island, the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) program provides school services while the child is hospitalized. BOCES teachers help students maintain and develop their educational potential during hospitalization, create a routine, and develop new coping skills. The program is available to both regular and special education students. The BOCES team works closely with the school to assess the child's performance and ease the transition back to school.
Outpatient Services
Our mission is to provide the most up-to-date, evidence-based clinical care to children and adolescents who are suffering from psychiatric illness. Through an understanding of the multiple biological, psychological, and social factors related to a child's problems, we deliver comprehensive psychiatric evaluations and innovative treatment plans to help alleviate their symptoms. We offer pharmacologic evaluation and ongoing medication management, as well as individual therapy, based on the needs of our patients and their families. We are also dedicated to developing additional therapeutic services for patients and families, including group therapy and parent management training. We strive to work in collaboration with families to best understand the problems they face and to utilize their inherent strengths to improve their lives.
Our experienced child and adolescent psychiatry faculty (Wilfred Farquharson IV, PhD, Director) are nationally renowned and have expertise in a wide range of disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, learning disorders, and behavioral disorders. We are expanding our outpatient services for children and teens with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. Led by Dr. Judith Crowell, we will have coordinated psychiatry, psychology, social work, and school consultation services for children with these problems.
A routine evaluation begins with obtaining standardized ratings from parent and teacher, copies of past evaluations and hospital records if relevant, and an interview with the parent/caretaker and child.
Consultation Liaison to Pediatrics
This provides high quality, thorough and timely psychiatric consultations to pediatric patients throughout Stony Brook Children's Hospital. Led by Dr. Judith Crowell, the consultation service provides evaluation and assistance with the management of psychological conditions and psychiatric disorders occurring in medically ill children throughout the hospital. These include complex medical/psychiatric diagnoses, stress reactions to medical conditions, self-injurious behaviors or suicidal attempt and ideation, acute decompensation from prior psychiatric or psychological status, procedural anxiety, depression and chronic pain. Assessment consists of talking to the families and children about medical and psychological/psychiatric conditions, as well as collaborating with the pediatric team involved in their care.
School Program
Dr. Deborah Weisbrot is embedded in three Western Suffolk BOCES schools that serve students from kindergarten through high school with serious psychiatric conditions. This program provides a unique consultation and liaison service between school staff and community services for these children with chronic problems.
In addition, the school program provides in-depth evaluations in the outpatient clinic through the BOCES system. These assessments typically provide second opinions for school districts that seek detailed reports to help the child obtain appropriate school services. They sometimes are needed to advise in legal matters. And always, these evaluations and assessment help educate parents, guardians, and the child on the presence, nature and treatment of their condition.
Pediatric Specialties — Child and Adolescent Psychiatry