The Center for Pediatric Eating Disorders at Children’s Medical Center, Plano, has 12 inpatient beds and offers Partial Hospitalization programming and an Intensive Outpatient Program. The unit admits children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 18 years. The program also treats patients with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

Fellows function as leaders of a multidisciplinary treatment team and provide evaluation as well as integrated multimodal treatment plans for individual, group, and family therapies and psychopharmacology.

The Children’s Medical Center Eating Disorders Program is the only facility in North Texas treating children and adolescents with eating disorders and comorbidities and the only pediatric eating disorders program in the United States with a Joint Commission Disease Specific certification.

The Children's Medical Center, Dallas, Day Treatment Service is a partial hospitalization program that runs 5 days/week, 7 hours/day and is designed to increase the level of emotional and behavioral functioning of children and their families in the home, school, and community. Multimodal treatment is offered, including milieu, individual, family, and group therapy, focused on obtaining a thorough diagnostic assessment, managing psychopharmacology, and helping the patient and family develop skills to successfully manage symptoms in the home and school environment.

The Pediatric Consult-Liaison (C/L) Service is a multidisciplinary team that evaluates and treats the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive needs of patients receiving care at Children’s Medical Center, Dallas. Youth with co-morbid medical and mental health illnesses are seen in settings including inpatient medical floors, the emergency department, and outpatient clinics. During the C/L rotation, each fellow is integral in achieving the goals of the service, including facilitating early recognition and treatment of psychiatric disorders in physically ill children and adolescents, differentiating psychiatric illnesses presenting with physical symptoms, avoiding unnecessary diagnostic tests and procedures, supporting youth and their families coping with disease and its treatment, and assisting medical teams in understanding the reactions and behaviors of physically ill youth and their families.

Children’s Medical Center, Pediatric Neurology Outpatient Clinic

In addition to learning diagnostic and treatment skills in the overlap of pediatric neurology and psychiatry, fellows assist neurologists in identifying patients with underlying psychiatric illnesses and in treatment referrals. Fellows are assigned to different pediatric neurology attendings and see 2-4 cases per morning, attain histories and complete neurological exams. Common diagnoses include seizure disorders, headaches, post-traumatic stress injury, traumatic brain injury, developmental delays, and genetic syndromes.

Children’s Medical Center, Teen Recovery Substance Abuse Intensive Outpatient Program

This dual-diagnosis program for teenagers with mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse issues is an intensive outpatient program with a group-based treatment model. Fellows participate in initial substance abuse evaluations and provide psychiatric management as appropriate and participate in group therapy.

The Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center, a low security level county juvenile detention center located in Dallas, houses male offenders convicted for crimes under Texas state and federal laws. As part of their forensic experience, fellows conduct evaluations and medication management appointments with Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists at the detention center and have opportunities to attend group therapy sessions.

Rees-Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence

This multi-disciplinary program based in pediatrics has services from child and adolescent psychiatry, psychology, child protective services, and pediatrics so that children in foster care may have one place to come for their care. The team works collaboratively with child-placing agencies and community providers to coordinate treatment for this vulnerable population. Fellows will evaluate children and adolescents and develop treatment plans with the multi-disciplinary team.

The St. Anthony School rotation involves the fellow being on site at St. Anthony School to observe class time and consult with staff while learning about the educational system in Texas. St. Anthony School is a respected private school where some students have learning differences and developmental issues and the school develops individual strategies for children and their families to support academic success.

Terrell State Hospital includes a child unit, girls unit, and boys unit, with bed capacity up to 30. Patients have a broad range of diagnosis, including some forensic cases. The average inpatient stay is approximately 6 weeks, but acute admissions are also seen, as well as complex cases that may be hospitalized for months. The campus has a school that patients attend and where fellows have the opportunity to rotate.

The Suicide Prevention and Resilience at Children’s (SPARC) program is an intensive outpatient program focused on teenagers who are experiencing or have recently had suicidal ideation but do not require hospitalization. Patients step down from higher levels of care or are referred from the emergency department or outpatient therapy. The program is group based, and patients learn coping skills, communication skills, and ways to manage emotions. Fellows attend groups, evaluate patients, manage medications, and coordinate care with other services.

Community Psychiatry Workforce Expansion (CPWE) is a program funded by the Texas Legislature through the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium that allows fellows and residents to have a community psychiatry experience under the supervision of a UT Southwestern Faculty child psychiatrist. Trainees carry a caseload of patients and work with a multidisciplinary team in a community mental health center to provide care and learn the unique aspects of this population. Rotations include on site care at urban centers and virtual care for more rural settings. Multidisciplinary team meetings and case staffing are part of the training.