Child and Adolescent Services

Child & Adolescent Services at Research Psychiatric Center Call Line (816) 235-8162

Research Psychiatric Center ensures that children and adolescents are given separate units to fully devote time and attention to specific age groups and age-related conditions. Disorders that the psychologists and psychiatrists treat include:

• Anger
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Autism
• Behavior disorder
• Depression
• Emotional distress
• Self-esteem issues
• Stress

Children and Adolescents Have Special Needs

When a child or adolescent is in distress and having emotional problems, their needs are much different from those of adults. Working with children during difficult times in their lives requires specialized training and experience. Often, the first signs of problems are evident through behavioral challenges, sleep changes, as well as destructive activities.

For more than 24, years Research Psychiatric Center has been helping children through troubled times. Children and adolescents are an integral part of their home and school environment. It’s essential that children and their families realize that they are part of an interconnected family system. The child’s symptoms may be a product of other changes in their environment. True healing and change requires every family member’s involvement.

Hospital Based Treatment Options

Hospital based services include short-term, acute care Inpatient Hospitalization as well as Day Treatment programs. Staying in the hospital can be a daunting experience for a child or adolescent. That’s why we make every effort to provide a structured, therapeutic, and safe environment in a caring atmosphere.

• Children’s Unit (ages 4 - 12)
• The children’s program is designed to promote success and a sense of well being. The focus of the program is to enhance the child’s self-esteem and provide positive reinforcement for positive behaviors.
• The child participates in daily group activities along with individual sessions with nursing staff, social services, expressive therapies and their physician. These interventions are designed to teach effective and more positive ways of interacting with others.
• Adolescent Unit (ages 13 - 17)
• The adolescent program focuses on providing a safe environment for the adolescent to recognize and address potential underlying emotional issues which often are manifested by depression, anger, stress or low self-esteem.
• Our goal is to educate young people and their families about alternative coping strategies as well as ways to regain a sense of stability and self sufficiency in their lives.
• Partial Hospitalization
• We offer partial hospitalization, or “day” programs, to children as well as adolescents. These programs afford the child or adolescent all of the intensive treatment available as an inpatient, but the child goes home every afternoon. (Schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)

These programs provide effective options for the patient who urgently needs daily treatment without the need for 24-hour care. In addition, the partial, or “day” programs, can ease the transition from acute inpatient care to home or family.