About the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at CHOP provides emotional and behavioral health services for infants, children and teens. Our experts conduct thorough evaluations with all patients and use a biopsychosocial model to identify biological, environmental, psychological and academic factors that contribute to your child's condition.

For complex cases, we work with other pediatric specialists at Children’s Hospital as needed. Our team of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers is committed to easing the stress associated with illness by providing support to children with chronic medical conditions and their families.

Our team provides diagnostic assessment and individual, group and family counseling through our specialized programs and services, including:

• Anxiety Behaviors Clinic (ABC)
• Behavioral Health Integrated Program
• Center for Management of ADHD
• Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress
• Child and Adolescent Mood Program (CHAMP)
• Children’s Intensive Emotional and Behavioral Services
• Eating Disorder Program
• Family Stress and Illness Program
• International Adoption Health Program
• Neuropsychology and Assessment Service
• Psychiatry Services
• Psychology Services
• Young Child Clinic

Professional training programs and research

In addition to patient care, we are actively involved in training and research to help clinicians better understand the underlying causes of psychological and psychiatric conditions and to discover new breakthroughs in treatment.

Research

The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Services engages in a wide range of research activities. These include:

• The use of transgenic mice and mice and human stem cells to model human brain development in normal and disease-like conditions
• The study of genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders
• The development of new approaches for optimizing the education of children with ADD in public schools

The ultimate goal of this research, whether focused on genes, brain circuitry, psychosocial influences on behavior, or on combinations of these, is to improve both the immediate health and the developmental trajectory of children in our care.

Learn more about our research »

Training programs

We offer accredited, specialized training in the biological, behavioral and psychosocial aspects of pediatric care to interns, residents and fellows specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatric psychology. We also offer educational programs and practicum clinical experiences to medical and psychology graduate students from the community.