Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services at Southlake include:

• Child and Family Clinic for Specialized Mental Health Services
• Child & Adolescent Mental Health In Patient Unit
• Day Hospital Program
• Disruptive Behaviours Program
• Eating Disorder Program
• Urgent Clinic

Child and Family Clinic for Specialized Mental Health Services

The Child & Family Clinic is a regional out-patient service for children up to 18 years of age who live in York Region.  Referrals from physicians and secondary service providers (with the knowledge and agreement of their family physician) are accepted for children and adolescents with severe mental health difficulties and their families.

The Child & Family Clinic provides psychiatric assessments for all referrals, followed by intensive psychotherapy services for patients based on those psychiatric consultations. The clinic is staffed by a team of child psychiatrists, psychologists, psychological associates and social workers. Referral sources are kept involved in their clients’ treatment, and will assume clinical responsibility for the patients when they are discharged.

More Information:
Call:  905-895-4521, extension 2976
Fax: 905-830-5977

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Child and Adolescent In-Patient Unit

The regional in-patient unit consists of seven secure beds dedicated to children and adolescents under the age of 18 who live anywhere in York Region. The focus of the unit is short-term assessment and crisis stabilization for children and adolescents presenting with severe and acute mental health disorders.  The in-patient unit is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of child psychiatrists, social worker, child and youth counselors and nurses.  The unit also provides 24/7 coverage to the hospital's Emergency Department for assessment of crisis presentations.

Day Hospital Program

The Day Hospital Program serves youth from 14 to 18 years of age who live in York Region. The program provides services for clients with severe psychiatric disorders that are hindering their ability to function in certain areas of their life. Referrals may be internal, coming from other Southlake Child & Adolescent Mental Health Programs, or from an external referrals made by the family’s physician.

The program is approximately 24 weeks in duration and clients attend Monday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program offers an eight space Care & Treatment classroom and intensive psychotherapy services provided by a team of psychiatrists, child and youth counselors, social workers, transition workers and a special education teacher from the York Region District School Board. Treatments are integrated throughout the school day and are drawn from both group and family therapy models.

More Information:
Call: 905-895-4521, extension 2976
Fax: 905-830-5977

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Disruptive Behaviours Program

The program is a regional out-patient program that serves children and adolescents between six and 18 years of age living in York Region. Types of problems addressed include moderate to severe disruptive behavious, oppositional defiance, explosiveness and early conduct problems. Services are short term, strength based and solution focused. Treatment options include consultative assessment, pharmacotherapy and brief intensive psychosocial treatment. It is expected that families or guardians are motivated to participate in the assessment and treatment processes. Referrals are accepted from physicians, or by agencies providing service with the knowledge and agreement of the family’s physician.

More Information:
Call: 905-895-4521, extension 2976
Fax: 905-830-5977

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Eating Disorder Program

The Eating Disorder Program has been identified as a regional leader in assessment, treatment, and professional training of adolescent eating disorders for the Central East region of Ontario. The region includes all eating disorder service initiatives of the Ministry of Health for Peterborough, Haliburton, Durham Region, Simcoe County, Kawartha, Pine Ridge and York Region.

The Program is affiliated with the University of Toronto for ongoing research.  Members of the Eating Disorder Program team regularly present at provincial, national and international conferences.

Our Vision
Our family oriented treatment team respects each client's individuality and wellbeing, and encourages them to actively participate in their own growth and recovery. Treatment is designed to be collaborative rather than imposed, interactive rather than passive, and personal rather than distant or neutral. Our program fosters our clients' reconnection with their feelings and helps them listen to their bodies. Our staff encourages self-awareness, self-understanding and self-compassion.

What are Eating Disorders?
Eating Disorders are the expressions of a range of food and weight issues that both men and women experience. Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are characterized by an intense fear of weight-gain and low self-esteem.

• What is anorexia nervosa?
  Anorexia nervosa is most often characterized by extreme weight-loss. Most individuals with anorexia have a very distorted body image and may be convinced they are fat even if they are emaciated. These individuals typically have an intense fear of weight gain and may restrict their food intake to the point of starvation.
  
  
• What is bulimia nervosa?
  Bulimia nervosa is characterized by periods of secretive and/or uncontrollable binge eating. This behaviour may be followed by some attempts at purging the body of the unwanted food such as, laxative abuse, self-induced vomiting, use of diet pills, food restriction or excessive exercise.

The Eating Disorder Program offers the following services:

• Assessment:
  The program is open to individuals 13 to 18 years of age who suffer from an eating disorder and live in York Region or Simcoe County. As part of the process of gaining access to any of our treatment services (e.g., Out-patient Program, Day Treatment Program), individuals and their families receive a half-day multidisciplinary assessment, where they are offered feedback and recommendations concerning diagnosis and treatment. Each assessment includes a family interview and separate individual sessions with a therapist and a dietitian. A medical assessment by the referring physician will be required in advance.
  
  
• Out-patient Program:
  For those clients who are able to manage and function sufficiently well in the community, services offered may include one or more of the following: individual therapy, family therapy, nutritional counseling, psycho-education classes for families, parent support group and/or therapeutic groups for adolescents.
  
  
• Day Treatment Program:
  For those clients who are finding it difficult to manage their eating disorder symptoms without more intensive support, our Day Treatment Program may be more appropriate. Clients participate in a half-day of schooling in the morning (our teacher is provided by the York Region Board of Education) and a half-day of therapy in the afternoon, which may include group therapy, individual or family therapy. Families are required to actively participate in weekly family meetings, as well as weekly family education nights. While attending the Day Treatment Program, clients are required to eat three meals and two snacks daily. Typical goals for our Day Treatment clients may include weight restoration, symptom interruption, normalized eating and interruption of negative thinking patterns that support the problem.

More Information:
Call 905-895-4521, extension 2322
Fax 905-830-5970

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Urgent Clinic

The Child & Adolescent Mental Health department provides some short term crisis intervention services (maximum of four sessions) for clients who have presented in a mental health crisis to the emergency department and require follow up outpatient services. The referral to the Urgent Clinic is made by the Crisis Worker in the Emergency department only for those patients without active clinical services in the community.

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For information on resources available to you during your hospital visit or stay (for example: parking, what to bring, discharge times and other helpful information) please click on Patients and Visitors.