Long-Term Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Patient care at Hawthorn is interdisciplinary. The fellow will:

• Learn the provisions of clinical care at Hawthorn.
• Assess patients admitted from emergency room settings.
• Conduct patient and family-centered evaluations of severe child and adolescent psychiatry disorders.
• Observe and interpret family relationships and their pertinence to the child’s presenting problems.
• Appreciate the role of the family in the assessment and treatment of the patient, regardless of their age.
• Produce differential diagnosis and dynamic case formulation of psychiatric symptomatology and appreciate the importance of biologic, psychological, and socio-cultural aspects of symptoms.
• Become familiar with psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches to severe child and adolescent psychiatry disorders.
• Understand behavior modification and level systems in treatment.
• Plan dispositions for the return to outpatient or a less restrictive care system

The fellow will:

• Gain medical knowledge through a combination of supervised clinical activities, mandatory divisional didactics, and supervised reading of pertinent child and adolescent psychiatry or related literature.
• Know the strengths and limitations of the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria.
• Understand the appropriate use of laboratory testing.
• Understand the appropriate use of adjunct medical consultation.

The fellow will:

• Participate in supervision, including one-on-one supervision by Hawthorn faculty and other divisional supervision, including individual and group supervision.
• Continue to apprise oneself of current knowledge concerning the pathogenesis and etiology of psychiatric disorders.
• Become familiar with the appropriate use of psychological testing.
• Gain administrative experience in ward management.
• Appreciate historical, cultural, legal, and ethical aspects of inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry.

The fellow will:

• Demonstrate sensitivity and compassion to children and adolescents affected by serious psychopathology and to their families, or their caretakers.
• Continue to develop relationships with other professionals, including supervisors, colleagues, students, professionals in training, and allied professionals.
• Develop intra-professionally by adaptively managing their emotional reactions to severe youth psychopathology.
• Demonstrate the ability to function as a cooperative member of a multi-disciplinary therapeutic team.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development.

The fellow will:

• Effectively communicate with patients, their families, and all other members of the treatment team.
• Conduct age-appropriate interview techniques, as well as comprehensive mental status examinations on children and adolescents.
• Talk with and obtain a history from patients, family members, and all others involved in the caretaking system of the patient (DFS social worker, teacher).
• Present cases succinctly and accurately.

The fellow will:

• Understand the roles of other mental health professionals, including psychologists, nursing staff, social workers, educational therapists, and activity therapists.
• Interact with social and legal agencies in the management of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders.