Psychology
Specialties
Psychology Clinic
The development and growth of children depends on their physical, emotional, and social well-being. Based on recent reports, nearly 20% of children and young people ages 3-17 in the United States have a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. As part of our mission to be leaders in healthcare for children, Complete Children’s Health has an integrated a psychology team to support the mental health needs of our patients.
The Psychology Clinic is a specialty clinic staffed by Pediatric Psychologists,
an LMHP Psychology Care Manager, and our Psychology Coordinator. Our goal is to collaborate with your child’s pediatrician to provide support and services to address common mental health concerns seen in youth across the school, home, and primary care settings.
REFERRAL PROCESS
If parents or caregivers have concerns about a child’s development or mental health, contact the child’s CCH care team. The child’s primary medical provider will gather information and then coordinate a referral to the CCH Psychology team as needed.
Communication with staff
to provide guidance related to the child’s current concerns
Resources
Referrals to community agencies
Appointments
PSYCHOLOGY APPOINTMENTS
Our Psychologists treat a wide range of behavioral and emotional concerns, including: anxiety, depression/mood concerns, attention problems, anger control and behavior concerns, autism spectrum disorders / developmental delay, adjustment to life stressors, school concerns, sleep problems, toileting concerns, pain & chronic illness, adherence to medical treatments & pill swallowing, social skills deficits / relationship problems, healing from trauma / abuse, feeding disorders / failure to thrive, child obesity, adoption/foster care issues.
We do not provide custody evaluations or court-ordered evaluations or treatments.
Our psychologists take an active, practical, and evidenced-based approach to treatment. Services begin with a thorough intake evaluation and initial recommendations are provided in the first one or two sessions. Additional psychological assessment or therapy services are scheduled based on your child’s presenting concerns. In general, regular and consistent attendance to sessions by both your child and his/her parent(s) is necessary for psychological treatments to be effective.
TREATMENT SERVICES
The first appointment will be a 60-80 minute initial interview to gather all needed information and to formulate a plan for testing and/or therapy based on presenting concerns and reason for referral. After the initial appointment additional therapy appointments may be scheduled or referrals to more appropriate community services may be provided.
Psychological testing and evaluations:
Testing and evaluation sessions, if needed, are also conducted after the initial appointment and will vary in length depending on circumstance. Psychological testing/evaluation is conducted to better understand your child’s current functioning and helps health care and school professionals plan effective treatment. Testing can include: in-session assessment, computer- assisted tests, checklists completed by patients, collateral sources, and observations. Charges for testing include the collective time the Psychologist spends reviewing records (medical, educational or psychological), interviewing collateral sources, administering testing, scoring and interpreting test data, preparing a written report and providing feedback. It typically takes 2-8 weeks to complete the testing process.
Therapy appointments:
Return therapy appointments typically last 45-60 minutes in duration. Shorter sessions may be scheduled as needed. Most therapy services utilize a combination of cognitive, behavioral and/or family therapy strategies. In general, regular and consistent attendance to psychology appointments by both the parent(s)/legal guardian(s)and child/patient is necessary for psychological treatments to be effective.
COVERAGE BY INSURANCE
Every insurance policy is different in the way that they cover Mental Health Benefits. Benefits for mental health appointments may be covered differently than visits for other medical care. We recommend that you review your coverage for mental health services by calling the number listed on the back of your insurance card.
If you are interested in visiting with one of our Psychologists,
please talk with your CCH Care Team.
