Pediatric Psychiatry and Psychology
Identifying and diagnosing mental health conditions in children and adolescents is one of the toughest jobs in health care. Sometimes emotional and behavioral symptoms overlap with other conditions. Changed or disruptive behavior could signal a disorder — or a typical developmental stage. Younger children may not have the words to express their thoughts or feelings. Teens may not want to communicate at all.
All too often, schools, courts, community health care providers, and other agencies may not have the resources to provide a comprehensive evaluation.
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division of the Department of Psychiatry at Stony Brook University has built an international reputation based on meeting these needs for children and teens. We provide expert assessment of childhood and adolescent mental illness — in many cases, second opinions — to patients from as far away as California and South America.
Stony Brook also provides the full spectrum of psychiatric and behavioral services — inpatient treatment, outpatient care, medical and behavioral management, and school programs — to address the wide range of mental health conditions occurring in children today.
Our Services
Stony Brook's renowned Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division 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
We offer 24-hour inpatient services for children aged 5 to 12 with serious psychiatric disorders in a 10-bed, locked unit. Services include comprehensive evaluations, medication management, therapeutic interventions and educational support 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, psychologist, 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
We provide evidence-based evaluations and treatments for various psychiatric disorders, including ADHD, mood and anxiety disorders, and developmental disabilities. Our services include pharmacologic evaluations, individual therapy, group therapy and parent management training.
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 strive to work in collaboration with families to best understand the problems they face and to utilize their inherent strengths to improve their lives.
Consultation Liaison to Pediatrics
This service, led by Dr. Paul Mitrani, offers psychiatric consultations to pediatric patients at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, addressing conditions such as stress reactions, self-injurious behaviors, and procedural anxiety.
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 Programs
Led by Dr. David Margulies and Dr. Deborah Weisbrot, this program provides consultation and liaison services between schools and community services for students with serious psychiatric conditions. It includes in-depth evaluations and supports students' educational needs during hospitalization.
Research and Education
Our Division is committed to advancing child and adolescent mental health through research and education. We maintain an accredited two-year psychiatric fellowship and provide training for medical students and residents. Key research areas include bipolar disorder, trauma's effects on metabolic syndrome and psychiatric aspects of pediatric multiple sclerosis.
Pediatric Psychiatry/Psychology Team
Locations
Inpatient Care
Stony Brook Children's Services12N - Stony Brook University Hospital
Stony Brook, NY 11794
For admissions, call (631) 444-1251
Outpatient Diagnostic Clinic
Stony Brook Children’s ServicesSouth Campus-Putnam Hall
For appointments, call (631) 632-8850
Patient Resources
Members of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division are actively involved in educating families and the community about psychiatric disorders and their management. We have worked with Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), Special Education Parents and Teachers Association (SEPTA), and other support and advocacy groups.
In addition, members of the Division, led by Dr. Carlson, connect with community therapists, educators, and families by organizing educational programs on child and adolescent psychiatry topics such as bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, learning disorders and aggression, and many other areas.
Research and Education
As part of an academic medical institution, Stony Brook's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division is devoted to the education and training of future child and adolescent mental health providers and the advancement of research in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.
The Division maintains an accredited two-year psychiatric fellowship with two fellows in each year. Our faculty also teaches residents and medical students from the Stony Brook School of Medicine.
Dr. Gabrielle Carlson is an internationally recognized researcher in bipolar disorder. She has also been involved in several longitudinal studies based at Stony Brook University. Two projects with Dr. Evelyn Bromet are follow-up studies of late teens and adults who had a first episode of psychosis, and of children and families exposed to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. She is also a collaborator with Daniel Klein, PhD, in the Department of Psychology, following a community sample of preschool children to examine the effects of temperament in predicting future depressive disorder.
Dr. Judith Crowell is the principal investigator of a longitudinal study that investigates the role of family factors and acute and chronic trauma and stress on the development of metabolic syndrome (precursors to adult onset diabetes and heart disease). She has studied attachment relationships, both parent-child and adult partnerships, and is interested in the role of close relationships as buffers against trauma and the development of subsequent health problems.
Dr. Deborah Weisbrot has been involved with the Lourie Center for Pediatric MS as their psychiatric consultant. In addition to in-depth clinical evaluations, there are ongoing studies of psychiatric aspects of pediatric multiple sclerosis. As an outgrowth of this research, Dr. Weisbrot has published one of the first papers describing psychiatric aspects of demyelinating disorders in children and adolescents. She is a long-standing member of the Physically Ill Child Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and co-editor of a book titledNeurologic Differential Diagnosis: A Case-Based Approach (2014).
