Adolescent Psychiatric Care

Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital provides brief, acute inpatient care to adolescents and young adults with a broad spectrum of psychiatric problems, such as mood disorders, psychotic disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, trauma, developmental disorders and disruptive behavior disorders.

The Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Program's staff — including physicians and faculty affiliated with Yale School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry — takes a multidisciplinary approach in diagnosing, understanding and treating each patient's type and severity of illness. Patients are typically followed by a psychiatrist, social worker and nurse, along with unit-based milieu counselors, recreational/occupational therapists and patient care associates. The goal is to stabilize and reduce acute psychiatric symptoms, teach coping skills, encourage family intervention and establish an aftercare plan — all within the context of the unique emotional, cognitive and social development of adolescents.

Clinical services provided by our Adolescent Inpatient Program may include:

• Comprehensive evaluation of the patient's physical, psychological and social issues
• Medication evaluation and management
• Crisis-oriented intensive family and individual therapy
• Structured group therapy, using cognitive-behavioral approaches to symptom management, interpersonal effectiveness and coping skills
• Collaboration and coordination with educational institutions
• Discharge planning and collaboration with the adolescent's school, outpatient clinicians, family and other community agencies