Division of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry
Division Director: Miriam Martinez, PhD
The Division of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry includes the following programs:
- Child Adolescent Services (CAS)
- Child and Adolescent Support Advocacy and Research Center (CASARC)
- Infant Parent Program (IPP)
- Child Trauma Recovery Project (CTRP)
Child and Adolescent Services (CAS)
Program Administrator: Gloria Zermeno
SFGH Child and Adolescent Services provides outpatient mental health services to children and youth from birth through age 18. Clinic services are provided at SFGH offices and in neighboring community settings for families who are seeking help for their children, who may have behavioral and/or emotional problems. CAS also offers services to infants, children, and their families who have suffered psychological trauma due to physical assault, emotional abuse or neglect, domestic violence, catastrophic injury, or debilitating chronic disease. A variety of therapeutic modalities are utilized, including individual, play, family and group therapy. The Early Childhood Development Clinic, a component of CAS, provides evaluations of infants and children who may have developmental delays, behavioral problems or who are at risk of cognitive and behavioral problems due to a variety of conditions such as prenatal drug exposure and/or premature birth. Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric consultations are available via our Pediatric Consult-Liaison Service.
Many children and youth experience school difficulties and have learning problems. An important component of CAS is consultation and collaboration with the San Francisco Unified School District. For clients in the foster care system, consultation with DHS workers is a key component to care coordination. CAS staff coordinates services with primary care and community providers as needed to facilitate the full and healthy development of each child and youth. Additionally, "Curbside" services are provided to healthcare professionals throughout the community.
Services provide by Child and Adolescent Services include:
- Assessment
- Individual/Play Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Psychiatric Assessment/Medication Evaluation
- Outreach to Families effected by Trauma
- Crisis Intervention and Brief Therapy
- Consultation-Liaison Service - Inpatient and Outpatient
- Psychological Testing
- Teen Sensitive Services
- Consultation for Child Care and Primary Care Givers
- Assistance with Victim/Witness of Crime Application
- Information and Referrals
Child and Adolescent Services has a range of providers including UCSF faculty, child psychologists, child psychiatrist, clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, pre and postdoctoral clinical psychology trainees, psychiatry residents and fellows, medical students and volunteers. Faculty and staff have a wide range of experience including areas of specialty in early childhood, trauma, teen violence, family therapy, work with foster care children, culturally appropriate services, and consultation with Pediatric Primary Care Providers. Staff work very closely with primary care providers and offer services in community settings. English and Spanish are spoken and there is access to interpreters for other non-English speaking clients.
How to Make an Appointment
For an appointment please call 206-4444.
Links
Living in a Nonviolent Community
Program Administrators: Elizabeth Elemento and Mireya Lopez
The Child and Adolescent Support Advocacy and Resource Center is an agency that provides medical, forensic and mental health services to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused. CASARC nurses are Child Interview specialists and provide forensic interviews for the Multidisciplinary Interview Center and for the Department of Human Services. Psychiatric social workers provide trauma focused therapy and case management to sexually abused children, adolescents and their families. Go to Child and Adolescent Support Advocacy and Resource Center website.
Program Administrator: Blanca Valle
The Infant-Parent Program is a mental health program focused on difficulties in the relationship between young children and their adult caregivers. The Infant-Parent Program / Daycare Consultants staff consists of licensed clinical psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, an early childhood education specialist, and a consulting child psychiatrist. All have special expertise in work with very young children and their parents.
IPP’s initial focus involves intensive assessment and long-term therapy with children under the age of three and their parents. Services are typically delivered in the family's home where behaviors can be observed and discussed. An additional service available to young children seen through the Infant-Parent Program is developmental neuropsychological assessment.
The Program is able to address a range of difficulties in infants and toddlers including failure-to-thrive and other feeding/eating disorders, early post-traumatic stress disorder, reactive attachment disorder, pervasive development disorder, separation anxiety disorder and temper tantrums, aggressiveness, and defiant behavior. Parental difficulties, that place the infant and the parent-child relationship at risk, like a mother with serious psychiatric illness or with difficult psychosocial circumstances, for example, can be a common reason for referral. In addition to clinical services, the IPP offers consultation to a range of agencies and institutions working with infants and toddlers and their families.
The Daycare Consultants service provides intensive mental health consultation to childcare programs serving children through age five. The services now extend to homeless and domestic violence shelters. Consultants offer case and program consultation, therapeutic playgroups and parent-child treatment in these venues. The Infant-Parent Program has a training program drawn from psychiatry, child psychiatry, psychology and social work. The training spans one year. Go to the Infant Parent Program website.