Pediatric Psychology
Pediatric consultation-liaison service
Kosair Children's Hospital offers services to help address patients' behavioral and emotional needs through the pediatric consultation-liaison service of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry/Bingham Clinic. With a team of pediatric psychologists and psychiatrists offering evaluation of patients and consultation with attending physicians, the following concerns can be addressed:
- Coping with chronic illness and traumatic injury
- Nonadherence to treatment regimen
- Anxiety reduction/relaxation/biofeedback
- Pain management
- Depressive reactions and withdrawal
- Suicidal behavior
- Eating/feeding problems
- Differential diagnosis and treatment when stress factors may be a component to the patient's medical presentation
- Behavioral problems on the medical unit
- Management of aggressive/disruptive behavior
- Psychotropic medications
- Psychological testing
- Grief issues
- Family/patient/staff conflict
- Facilitating family coping with child illness
The services of the consultation team often complement a variety of support services, including the Hearts and Hands Palliative Care Program, clinical resource management, Child Life and Expressive Therapy and chaplaincy .
Procedure for referrals
Referrals are taken between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by calling (502) 852-1068. After 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends and holidays, the on-call child psychiatry resident is contacted. A 24-hour period is required to complete the assessment and make recommendations.
Staff
Bryan Carter, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist and professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics, serves as the service chief. Other members of the team include a pediatric psychology postdoctoral fellow, a child psychiatry fellow, a child psychology intern and a psychology practicum student. The individuals filling the psychiatry fellow and psychology intern positions rotate every four months.
