Clinical experiences occur at four primary sites: Friends Hospital, Northwestern Human Services (NHS), St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Woods Services. NHS, SCHC and Woods Services are only a short drive from our academic and administrative offices at Friends Hospital.
Friends Hospital is a free-standing psychiatric hospital with 192 acute inpatient beds and 27 adult residential beds for those suffering from chronic and persistent mental illness. Residents spend four months at Friends Hospital (100% effort), two months at Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, an acute care child facility (ages 5-12), and two months on the 24-bed adolescent unit (ages 13 to 18). Residents may elect a clinical experience on the Eating Disorders Program (both IP and Partial hospital levels of care). The Child and Adolescent units admits approximately 600 privately and publicly insured patients a year; primary discharge diagnoses included disruptive disorders, anxiety, depressive, bipolar and psychotic disorders. Treatment modalities include: individual, family and group psychotherapeutic interventions, experiential and recreational therapies, psychopharmacology, behavior therapy and therapeutic community.
Northwestern Human Services (NHS) is a non-profit human services organization, currently operating in the Mid-Atlantic United States, specifically in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. Residents spend up to 60% effort for no less than 12 months at the Children’s Reach Clinic (CRC), 265 East Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., and up to 20% effort for 12 months at the CARE School Program, 2099 Willard Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., about a five minute drive from the Children’s Reach Clinic. The Children’s Reach Clinic treats about 3,000 patients, ages 3-17, from diverse sociocultural backgrounds (60% Latino, 20% African American, and 20% Caucasian) per year. Other staff provides services to the caregivers of children already receiving services at the facility. Primary diagnoses include: Disruptive, Mood and Anxiety Disorders, most patients have multiple psychiatric and medical co-morbidities including seizure, sleep and hematological disorders. Residents provide both diagnostic and treatment services including seven hours/week dedicated for individual and family psychotherapy and medical and consultation serves to the Preschool Partial Program at the same site. The CARE School program is school-based behavioral health program jointly funded by the Philadelphia School district and Community Behavioral Health. Thirty students attend the program separated into two primary and one middle school classrooms each staffed by a special education teacher, social worker (clinician) and behavioral health aid. Residents provide consultation to the educational/clinical team as well as direct evaluative services for individual children and their caregivers. The student diagnostic and sociodemographic characteristics parallel those at the Children’s Reach Clinic.
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (SCHC) is a 130-bed tertiary care facility with full range of inpatient medical and surgical services, specialty outpatient services and an emergency department. It is 2 miles from the primary teaching site. Residents have a three month 100% effort clinical experience in pediatric hospital consultation liaison and up to three months 100% effort clinical experience in both Neurology and Developmental Pediatrics. The diagnostic mix is excellent, both psychiatrically and from the vantage point of having access to children with many different pediatric diseases. SCHC provides services irrespective of the ability to pay serving private, public and uninsured patients. Residents provide brief interventions and supportive services to the stressed multidisciplinary care teams providing care to critically ill and dying children on the C/L service and evaluative and treatment services to neurologically and developmentally impaired children in Neurology and Developmental Pediatrics.
Woods Services is a residential and education facility for children, adolescents and adults with mental retardation, emotional disturbance, cerebral palsy, neurological disorders, challenging behaviors, complicated medical problems, sensory impairments, physical disabilities, muscular dystrophy, brain injury. Residents spend up to two months 100% effort at Woods Services providing evaluative and treatment services, interdisciplinary consultation, classroom observation, individual and group therapy (utilizing a variety of cognitive/behavioral clinical approaches), socialization training and some family therapy. Youth programs serve approximately 486 patients with a 3:1 male :Female ratio; approximately 6% are not intellectually impaired, while 22% have mild, 25% moderate, 26% severe and 21% profound impairment. Psychiatric comorbidity includes ADHD (58%), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (18%), various Impulse Control Disorders (13%), Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (60%) and Psychosis (10%). |