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If you are ever concerned that the emotional issues your child is facing are severe enough to risk suicide or injury to self or others, please seek immediate medical attention at an emergency facility (we recommend The Children's Hospital whenever possible) or call 911.
Have Mental Health Concerns? If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of our providers to evaluate an emotional issue your child is facing, please call our patient care line to make an appointment. Mental Health
As some children pass through childhood and adolescence they may experience a few bumps along the way. Sometimes children experience emotions/feelings or display behavior that cause problems in their lives and the lives of those around them. Families often worry when their child or teenager has difficulty coping with things, feels depressed, can't sleep, shows signs of an eating disorder, gets involved with drugs and/or alcohol, or can't get along with family or friends. If your child is experiencing any of these or other emotional problems, the providers at Advanced Pediatrics would like to help. After an initial consultation to discuss the issues your child is dealing with, our providers will make a recommendation to either treat your child within our practice or refer him or her to a qualified specialist that can provide counseling and treatment.
Issues We May Treat
Depending on the severity of the situation and how well a patient responds to treatment, we may treat the following mental health/behavior issues within our practice:
- Behavioral and Adjustment Issues
- Simple Depression
- Mild Anxiety Disorders
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Integrated Mental Health Counseling Project
For over a year Advanced Pediatrics has been working with Aurora Mental Health Center's Integrated Services Team to make mental health services more accessible to patients by locating a mental health professional at our Aurora office. Through this project, most Advanced Pediatric patients may quickly be referred by one of our providers to a licensed clinical social worker for mental health assessment and treatment. The specific services that are provided through Aurora Mental Health Center's Integrated Services Team include:
- Mental health screening and assessment.
- Short-term mental health counseling appointments (1 - 6 sessions).
- Referral to mental health services.
- Assistance to patients in accessing valuable community resources.
- Consultation and recommendations to our providers regarding patient mental health concerns.
Though Aurora Mental Health Center's Integrated Services Team counseling appointments are located at our Aurora office, patients from all of our office locations may be referred for these services. Once a referral is made by one of our providers, scheduling of the appointments will be made directly with the mental health provider and billed through Aurora Mental Health. Aurora Mental Health accepts most insurances (including Medicaid). Uninsured patients living within Aurora city limits may qualify for a sliding fee scale.
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Referrals to Specialists
Some mental health issues are beyond the scope of general pediatrics and are best treated by a specialist. We normally refer the following mental health issues to specialists:
- Anxiety Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders)
- Bipolar Disorder, Manic Depressive Illness
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Eating Disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse
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Advanced Pediatrics Diagnostic Questionnaires
If you have been asked by one of our providers to fill out one of the following diagnostic forms, please download - print - and then return the completed form to our office according to the instructions given by the provider. Prior to filling out any diagnostic form, your child should be seen in our office for a consultation visit.
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Recommended Resources
Helpful Websites
Recommended Reading
Your Child: Emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Development from Birth through Preadolescence. AACAP, David Pruitt, MD.
Your Adolescent: Emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Development from Early Adolescence Through the Teen Years. AACAP, David Pruitt, MD.
Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome your Child's Fears, Worries, and Phobias. Chansky Tamar E. 2004.
Helping your Depressed Child: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents. Barnard, Martha Underwood. 2003.
Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids. Wilens, Timothy E., Guilford Press, 2004.
Seven Steps to Help Your Child Worry Less. Goldstein, Hagar & Brooks, Specialty Press, 2002.
Angry Children, Worried Parents: Seven Steps to Help Families Manage Anger. Goldstein, Brooks & Weiss, Specialty Press, 2004.
Nurturing Resilience in Our Children: Answers to the Most Important Parenting Questions. Brooks & Goldstein, McGraw-Hill, 2002.
A Parent's Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens. Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, and Martha Jablow. The American Academy of Pediatrics.
Straight Talk about Psychiatric Medications for Kids. Timothy E. Woolens, Guilford Press, 2001.
The Anxiety Cure for Kids. Ed Spencer, 2003.
The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children. Ross Green, 2005.
Transforming the Difficult Child. Howard Glasser and Jennifer Easley.
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