Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services include:

• Child and Adolescent Crisis Program
• Child and Family Clinic
• Child & Adolescent In Patient Unit
• Eating Disorder Program

Child and Adolescent Crisis Program

This program provides urgent assessment and short-term treatment for children up to 18 years of age, as well as support to parents during these crisis periods. The program, available to the residents of the hospital's service area, offers brief individual and family therapy and does not require a physician's referral.

Parents who believe their child is in crisis and may be of harm to themselves or to others, should contact the York Region Crisis phone line at 310-COPE or (310-2673). A member of the Child and Adolescent Crisis Team or alternate can also be contacted directly.

More Information
Call 905-853-2227
Fax 905-830-5970

Top

Child and Family Clinic

The Child and Family Clinic is an outpatient child and adolescent mental health clinic, serving children up to 16 years of age who reside in the hospital's service area. The mandate of the program is to provide assessment and treatment services for the more severe mental health problems of childhood and adolescence. A referral from a staff physician is required.

Common Reasons for Referral

• anxiety disorders, including obsessive compulsive disorder
• depression and other mood disorders
• childhood trauma and abuse
• child and adolescent sexual offending
• gender identity disorder
• childhood psychosis
• pervasive development disorder
• eating disorders for children under 13 years of age

Services Offered:

• psychiatric team consultation - a diagnostic assessment including treatment recommendations
• family therapy
• parent counseling
• individual therapy, including play therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, interpersonal psychotherapy
• psychiatric/medication consultation
• psychological assessment
• group therapy, including peer socialization/anger management groups, child and adolescent groups for mood, self-esteem, anxiety issues, etc.

More Information
Call 905-895-4521
• Reception: extension 2215
• Intake Worker: extension 2759
Fax 905-830-5977

Top

Child and Adolescent In Patient Unit

The regional in-patient unit consists of five interim beds dedicated to children and adolescents under the age of 18 who reside anywhere in York Region. The focus of the unit is short-term assessment, crisis stabilization utilizing a multidisciplinary approach provided by professionals from the discipline of psychiatry, social work, nursing and child and youth work. The unit also provides 24-hour coverage to the hospital's Emergency Department for assessment of crisis presentations.

Eating Disorder Program

Definitions:

• 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. Additionally, many individuals with anorexia have stopped menstruating.
  
  
• 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 between 13 to 18 yeas 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., Outpatient 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.
  
  
• Outpatient 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.
  

Our Team
Our treatment team includes highly skilled professionals from a broad range of health care disciplines including, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, nutrition, child and youth work and social work.

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.

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

Top

Interesting Facts About the 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.

In 1999, our program developed a Psycho-educational Program manual for youth and their families. This manual has been so successful it is currently being implemented in facilities located across Canada.

The Southlake Regional Health Centre's Eating Disorder 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.

Top

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.