The child and adolescent psychiatrists at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital are medical doctors who have completed an adult psychiatric residency. They are required to have two additional years of specialized fellowship training focused on the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders.
Our child and adolescent psychiatrists demonstrate their expertise by not only passing a rigorous exam for adult psychiatry, but also one for child and adolescent psychiatry. This earns them the board-certified designation and ensures your child has a provider with exceptional knowledge of child-specific behavioral and mental health concerns.
Children’s behavioral health concerns
We diagnose and treat children and adolescents with a variety of conditions that include:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Anxiety disorders
- Mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Eating disorders
- Substance use disorders
- Psychosocial problems relating to family disputes, academic difficulties, grief, exposure to bullying, emotional/physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect
- Sexual or gender identity concerns
Diagnosing children’s mental health concerns
Our behavioral health specialists take the time to evaluate your child’s physical and mental health carefully. They also take a complete social and educational history.
Depending on your child’s ability to verbalize their feelings, we may ask you:
- About their development and whether they’ve experienced a past trauma or have an ongoing medical condition
- How long they’ve experienced symptoms
- Whether teachers or caregivers have commented on irregular behaviors or symptoms
- Whether there is any family history of mental health conditions
Treating children’s mental or behavioral health conditions
The team of behavioral health experts who support our child and adolescent psychiatrists include:
- Licensed doctoral-level psychologists
- Licensed social workers, therapists and case managers
- Certified registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants
- Psychiatric nurses
- Psychiatric rehabilitation professionals
- Certified teachers
This team collaborates with our pediatricians, as indicated, to assess and address learning disorders, attention disorders or developmental concerns.
Based on our team’s evaluation, we develop a customized treatment plan that will offer your child (and you) relief.
Outpatient psychiatry
Services may include:
- Individual therapy to help promote and develop coping skills
- Group therapy sessions to focus on problem-solving or anger management
- Family therapy to explore the family dynamic, enhance parental coping strategies and encourage parental involvement in your child’s mental health
- Psychiatric rehabilitation to build self-esteem and promote stress relief
- Short- or long-term medication use
Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg
LVPG Adult and Pediatric Psychiatry—Muhlenberg
2710 Schoenersville Road
Phone: 610-297-7500
Fax: 610-297-7533
Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest
LVPG Adult and Pediatric Psychiatry—1259 Cedar Crest
1259 S. Cedar Crest Blvd., Suite 230
Phone: 610-402-5900
Fax: 610-402-4650
Adolescent inpatient psychiatry
We offer inpatient mental health crisis intervention for teens ages 12 to 18 years old. Our caring team works to stabilize your teen’s condition and ensure they cannot harm themselves. This safe and secure unit is located in the Behavioral Health Science Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg. We work with your child for about seven days until they can transition to a partial hospitalization program or outpatient care. A certified teacher provides school services during their stay, in coordination with their current school.
Adolescent Transitions, a partial hospitalization program
Adolescent Transitions is a program that helps your child step down from the inpatient setting or serves as an alternative to hospitalization when 24 hours supervision on a secure unit is not necessary.
Most teens receive care every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the evening, they return home to test their ability to cope while interacting with you, other family members and friends. Usually within two weeks, they transition to outpatient counseling and return to school (although a certified teacher provides educational support each day during treatment, in close collaboration with the teen’s current school).
Learn more about behavioral health programs at Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Your children mean the world to you
At Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, we take the very best care of them.