Acute Adolescent Psychiatry Unit

This acute adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit at ECMC accepts patients ages 12 to 17 who typically have a full scale IQ of at least 65. They represent a broad range of economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

At this 16-bed inpatient unit, you will train with our excellent faculty in assessment, treatment planning, psychopharmacology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, crisis intervention, family therapy, parent guidance and discharge planning. Videotaping capacity helps you review your interviews and evaluations to improve your skills.

You will follow two to six patients on this unit guided by a faculty member on the inpatient unit and the child and adolescent psychiatry fellow.

This unit sees more than 300 new admissions per year with patients staying 15 days on average.

Diagnoses include:

• mood disorders (40 percent)
• externalizing disorders (ADHD, conduct disorder, ODD; 40 percent)
• psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia (15 percent)
• pervasive developmental disorders, including autism (5 percent)
• other developmental disorders (learning, motor and/or communication disorders; 50 percent; usually comorbid with other disorders)
• significant Axis III diagnosis comorbid with other disorders (15 percent)

• adolescents ages 12 to 17
• 60 percent female
• 40 percent male
• 60 percent Caucasian
• 30 percent African-American
• 8 percent Hispanic
• 2 percent Native American