The Yale Child Study Center is an internationally recognized center of innovation in child and family mental health, dedicated to promoting healthy development and psychological well-being across the lifespan. We care for children and adolescents whose families are concerned about their child’s development and behavior. Common concerns include developmental delays, behaviors or worries that interfere with their child’s life, isolation and fear of school, and defiant and difficult behavior. Our first job is to listen. As we begin to understand the family and child, we will guide our patients through the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment process. We provide office and home-based interventions as well as telehealth services, and we work with as many people involved in your child’s growth as possible, including parents, teachers and pediatricians. Above all, we care about your child’s development and your family’s well-being. We will use every means available—and maybe even invent some new ones—to help the child and their family. We are committed to working with every family to help them understand and address their child’s and family’s needs. Our interdisciplinary teams use up-to-date science to evaluate and then work with the family to develop a comprehensive treatment recommendations. Our treatment may include (one-on-one or group) therapy, family therapy, and parent-centered approaches and collaboration with schools. When appropriate, our providers will discuss the use of medication, providing detailed information so parents can make an informed decision. Many of our patients improve and thrive without medication, and for others it is a valuable part of their treatment. At the Yale Child Study Center, we are pioneering many treatments including approaches that help parents improve disruptive anger and aggression in children with autism and other developmental disorders. We are also developing new ways to help children overcome anxieties that may limit their daily lives, and treatment approaches designed to lessen the impact of an overwhelming event on the child and family. Finally, we work directly with parents around their own concerns about their roles as parents.

Yale Psychiatry is the largest provider of psychiatric services in Connecticut, and the top National Institutes of Health-supported Department of Psychiatry in the United States. We are dedicated to adding to the body of knowledge in the field, and improving treatments for psychiatric disorders that span all ages. This includes helping people cope with major life events or medical illnesses, behavioral problems associated with personality disorder or addiction, mood and psychotic disorders, and dementia. Yale investigators have pioneered new treatments for nearly every psychiatric disorder. Our research programs have produced breakthroughs in areas as diverse as molecular neuroscience, genetics, translational neuroscience, neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, rehabilitation, health services, forensic psychiatry, epidemiology, and health policy. Today, our clinicians are at the forefront of social, pharmacological, psychological, rehabilitative, and neurostimulation treatments. Through clinical trials, our interventional psychiatry service delivers high-impact treatments, including ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and ketamine, for patients with treatment-resistant symptoms of depression. Our clinical programs are interwoven with our research efforts. We host programs that specialize in the major mental diseases and substance abuse treatment at three major institutions: Connecticut Mental Health Center, the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, and the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. We also provide increased psychiatry support for Smilow Cancer Hospital in areas such as smoking cessation.

When a young person has questions or concerns related to gender, the entire family is affected. We are a safe, supportive resource and interdisciplinary program for children, adolescents, and young adults who are exploring their gender identity, as well as for their families. We provide comprehensive care for young people who are questioning their assigned gender and/or are seeking consultation and care. Our team includes pediatric-trained endocrinologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, as well as a medical ethicist, a chaplain, and a lawyer. We work closely together as a team and also consult with a wide array of other specialists. Together, we are committed to providing care in compassionate and respectful ways. Our clinicians follow current medical protocols, and the care offered by our program is supported by professional guidelines endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Psychological Association. When it comes to gender identity and related concerns, our first step is to listen. Some youth are exploring their identity. Others know that how they feel inside does not match up with the gender they were assigned at birth. We help sort through these questions. After an initial consultation, we offer a thorough biopsychosocial readiness assessment, which includes obtaining information from patients and their families. This comprehensive assessment takes six to eight hours to complete and can be done in one day or divided over several sessions. If we determine that any mental health or other support is needed, we can connect patients with resources at Yale or in the community. After the evaluation and when all parties agree that it is safe, healthy, and appropriate, we offer a variety of care options related to gender affirmation. At the first visit to our program, gender affirmation visit, patients and their families will meet with both one of our a pediatric endocrinologists and a mental health provider experienced in caring for dealing with patients who report gender variance. First and foremost, we make sure we understand our patients’ needs and desires. We will discuss the risks and side effects of any proposed care options, work together to learn what support systems are already in place, and determine what additional treatments and resources our patients may need. If you are in crisis, call the confidential toll-free National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If texting is easier, you can also text the National Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.