Psychiatry and Psychology
Contact Our Mental Health Team
Phone: (757) 668-4673 (HOPE)
Mental Health Care at CHKD
Addressing the Needs of Our Region
Psychiatry and psychology at CHKD provides provider consultation, psychiatric assessment, psychological testing, and state-of-the-art treatment to support and promote mental health in children and teens.
Meet Our Psychiatry and Psychology Care Team
Our Psychiatrists
Our child and adolescent psychiatrists are physicians with specialty training in the assessment and treatment of child mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, trauma-related conditions, ADHD, disruptive behavior problems, psychosis, eating disorders, and others. Our psychiatrists work alongside your child's mental health team to care for children and teens by providing family-focused care. Psychiatrists perform diagnostic evaluations, may prescribe medications, and offer psychosocial interventions to support a child's care.
View our list of psychiatry services below:
- Comprehensive, clinical diagnostic evaluations in all settings.
- Consultation to pediatric specialists and inpatient teams to support the care of children with physical health concerns.
- Consultation to pediatric primary care clinicians through the Virginia Mental Health Access Program (VMAP) and the Children's Hospital Early Childhood Consultation (CHECC).
- Brief, evidence-based therapeutic interventions.
- Psychiatric medication treatment.
Our Psychologists
Our pediatric and clinical psychologists provide psychological diagnostic assessments along with individual and group therapies. Our psychologists help children and adolescents cope with a variety of stressors and conditions, paying special attention to genetic, medical, developmental, educational, social, and family factors to make a diagnosis and determine and provide the best care for each patient.
View our list of psychology services below:
Our psychologists use a variety of techniques and evidence-based modalities to help children build and practice coping skills to facilitate growth and healing.
Individual therapy consists of one-on-one time between your child and a licensed psychologist or psychology trainee supervised by a licensed psychologist.
During family therapy, a psychologist or psychology trainee (supervised by a licensed psychologist) meets with the child and family together.
Interventions may include:
- Parent Management Training
- Parent Child Interaction Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Your child may be referred for psychological assessment when there is a specific question regarding their diagnoses, determination of strengths and weaknesses, or pre- and post-intervention.
First, you and your child will meet with a psychologist for an intake appointment where history and concerns will be discussed. Questionnaires may be given to the child, caregivers, and teachers to complete.
Insurance may require preauthorization before testing can be scheduled. We will work with you to obtain this. Most insurance companies will only pay for testing once in a year.
Your child will return for testing which is conducted one-on-one, in person, and may consist of answering questions, paper and pencil tests, and computer/iPad based testing with a psychologist, psychology trainee, or psychometrist under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. The caregiver(s) and sometimes the child will have another appointment with the psychologist to go over results and recommendations.
CHKD provides mental health assessment and consultation for children hospitalized for medical concerns or surgical procedures. A child’s medical team typically initiates the referral and may request that the consultation team provide medication recommendations, more information about a child’s strengths, weaknesses or other factors that may impact hospitalization, help a child adjust to hospitalization and illness, or communicate and collaborate with the medical team.
We will coordinate with medication providers, psychotherapists, pediatricians, and other referring providers to provide resources and recommendations and stay informed about the child’s well-being.
- Behavioral and emotional issues caused by, or leading to, medical illness or that may complicate medical treatment
- Adherence/compliance with treatment
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Intellectual disabilities
- Communication disorders
- Learning disorders
- Motor disorders
- Disruptive behavior and conduct problems
- Anxiety disorders
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Selective mutism
- Compulsive disorders, including trichotillomania and dermatillomania/exoriation
- Trauma
- Mood disorders
- Assessment of cognitive difficulties associated with psychological and medical conditions
- Feeding (ARFID) and eating disorders
- Elimination disorders
- Gender identity
Services We Do Not Provide
- Forensic evaluations
- Custody evaluations
Psychatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners
Our Nurse Practitioners work collaboratively with the interdisciplinary mental health teams in the outpatient and inpatient settings to evaluate and treat children’s mental health conditions. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) have specialty training in the care of mental health conditions. Nurse practitioners perform triage and diagnostic assessments, offer education about mental health conditions, and treat psychiatric conditions with medications and other supports.
Our Services
Psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and psychologists at CHKD work with interdisciplinary teams to address children’s mental health concerns across our health system including outpatient practices, pediatric outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient floors, and in our specialized intensive outpatient and inpatient psychiatric programs.
How Often Will My Child Be Seen?
Instead of seeing children on an ongoing basis, we provide outpatient consultation, consisting of several visits, to diagnose and make treatment recommendations.
Insurance and Billing Information
We accept all major insurances, including Virginia Medicaid, Tricare, and Cardinal Health. Please take the time to understand how your insurance plan works, especially regarding annual deductibles and co-pays, which can affect your out-of-pocket costs.
Unless you have HMO insurance that requires a referral from a primary care physician, a referral is not required. You can simply call our office to make an appointment.
If your insurance does require a referral, make sure it has not expired and remember to bring it with you to the appointment.
Everyone should bring a government-issued photo ID and their insurance card to every medical appointment.
We offer in-depth information about insurance in our billing and insurance section.
