Psychiatry

The Division of Psychology and Psychiatry at the Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville consists of pediatric psychologists; child and adolescent psychiatrists in pediatric psychology who are engaged in clinical, research, and educational activities related to emotional and behavioral issues, especially in the context of medical illness. The division offers psychological evaluation, therapy services, and medication management to children up to age 18 and their families.

The division treats a wide range of psychiatric and psychological disorders, including autistic spectrum disorders, eating disorders, learning problems and emotional and behavioral disorders. Due to our affiliation to the other pediatric specialty divisions at Nemours, a major emphasis of the division is enhancing the adjustment of children, adolescents and families to serious or chronic medical conditions, stress-related physical symptoms and coping with issues of compliance. In addition, at Wolfson Children’s Hospital we provide consultative services for medical patients and our psychiatrists are the attending staff in the child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient and day stay programs.

The division houses the Center for Pediatric Psychology Research, a program that stimulates and coordinates research on topics such as family adjustment to childhood diabetes, psychological preparation of children and families for surgery, and factors affecting the psychological adjustment of children who have facial deformities.

Since 1993, the division has provided supervised clinical training to postdoctoral fellows in pediatric psychology. Division staff are frequent speakers to a variety of audiences about topics related to child behavior and development, parenting, and specific psychological disorders. The division is approved to provide continuing education to psychologists by the American Psychological Association and by the Florida Board of Psychological Examiners.

Services Available:

• Evaluation and treatment of patient and family psychosocial needs in the areas of cognitive and intellectual development, school achievement, emotional adjustment, social interactions, and personality and behavior problems
• Assessment and treatment of behaviors, thoughts, or feelings that may interfere with healthy adjustment to chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and epilepsy
• Assessment and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), learning disabilities, and developmental disabilities.
• Evaluation and treatment of psychological factors contributing to unexplained chronic pain such as recurrent abdominal pain, headaches, and joint pain
• Assistance to children and adolescents for coping with painful or frightening medical procedures, such as surgery or injections
• Determination of a child’s need for medication treatment for any of the above problems and monitoring of the safety and effectiveness of that treatment

Typical Diagnoses/Problems:

• Adjustment to chronic illness
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)
• Depression
• Anxiety disorders
• Adjustment disorders/reactions
• Autism
• Conduct disorder
• Depression
• Developmental disabilities
• Eating disorders
• Helping families cope with illness
• Learning disabilities
• Medical noncompliance
• Oppositional-defiant disorder
• Psychological factors affecting a medical condition
• Pain management
• Parent-child conflict
• Psychosomatic disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Social-skill development for children