Inpatient services
Our psychiatry inpatient program is a family-centered setting focusing on crisis stabilization, intensive evaluation and short-term treatment for psychiatric problems affecting children and adolescents, ages 3 through 17 years.
Our 12-bed unit serves patients who require 24-hour care. Diagnoses include:
Through brief hospitalization, we evaluate and stabilize each child, while preparing patients and families to transition as quickly as possible to success in family life and the school community.
Our inpatient program integrates services including:
- Expert multi-disciplinary patient and family evaluation
- Individual, group, and family therapy
- Recreational and behavioral therapy
- Classroom instruction with specialized teacher
- Carefully monitored medication (pharmacotherapy) as needed
- Parent education
On site access to pediatric diagnosis and treatment collaboration at Children's Memorial is available for children who have medical disorders in addition to emotional/behavioral problems.
Diagnostic evaluation
Upon admission, each child is evaluated by a fully trained child and adolescent psychiatrist who can access an array of diagnostic and evaluation techniques, as medically necessary. An attending child psychiatrist sees each child and reviews progress every day during the inpatient stay. Referring psychiatrists or therapists are welcome to participate. After assessing factors that contribute to a child's condition, we develop individualized treatment plans for each child.
Family-centered treatment
We believe family involvement is key to a child's healing process. Through family therapy sessions and working visits, parents and guardians are provided with the special support and training needed to more effectively care for and interact with their child once hospital treatment is complete.
A multi-disciplinary, professional team
Our child and adolescent psychiatrists, all of whom hold faculty appointments at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, lead an experienced team of pediatricians, psychologists, social workers, registered nurses, recreation therapists, milieu therapists and a special education teacher. Team members meet regularly to discuss each child's progress and refine treatment goals and after-care planning.
Our goal is to work collaboratively with patients, families, and community providers to advocate for the best patient and family services.
To make a referral or for more information, call 1.800.KIDS DOC.