The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit at the Sheba Medical Center is the first such unit of its kind in Israel to provide mental health services to children and their families in a pediatric rather than in a psychiatric setting.

The unit was established as a small outpatient guidance clinic and grew to an important service provided by the Sheba Medical Center. The unit includes an outpatient mental health clinic and a day treatment center. It employs a multidisciplinary staff, serving children and their families.

Most of our referrals come from the catchment area around the medical center, but some may come from more distant parts of Israel for more specialized evaluation and treatment.

Referrals to the outpatient clinic are made directly by the families, while referrals to the day treatment center come from a primary professional source after the initial evaluation has been made. The general medical services also refer to the clinic, patients who have emotional problems compounding their medical disorders.

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit's outpatient clinic provides multidisciplinary ambulatory services (psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers) to children, adolescents (and their families), suffering from a variety of disorders. These include emotional and behavioral disorders, learning difficulties, anxiety disorders, as well as more serious problems such as psychoses, suicide attempts, physical and sexual abuse and post traumatic stress disorders. Many of the families served are multi-problem families. Special services are provided to children with developmental disorders that require care from both mental health disciplines and from medical specialists.

After the patient's initial evaluation, the following treatment modalities are available: individual long or short term Psychotherapy (dynamic, behavioral, cognitive), Crisis intervention, Family Therapy, Group Therapy, Conjoint Parent Counseling, and Psycho-Pharmacotherapy. Psychodiagnostic testing and Psychiatric evaluations are available.

Environmental interventions are made through consultation with community services such as social welfare, education (schools and school psychology services), residential treatment centers and the courts.

Consultation is also provided to specialized medical pediatric units such as Cystic Fibrosis, rehabilitation, Hemato-Oncology, and Endocrinology.

We have a Day Treatment Center that specializes in the long-term treatment of children aged three to seven years of age who suffer from pervasive developmental disorders such as Autism as well as other neuropsychiatric disorders. Twenty-four children and their families are in treatment at any given time. The center integrates the treatment modalities of mental health with those of special education. The services are provided daily, six days a week from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The children receive intensive individualized treatment that include specialized teaching, individual and/or group Psychotherapy, behavior modification, occupational, speech, music and art therapies and Hydrotherapy, as well as Psycho-Pharmacotherapy as needed. Parents receive intensive counseling, individually and in groups.
 
The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit provides clinical teaching to a wide variety of professionals. They include residents in clinical psychology and in child and adolescent psychiatry, medical and clinical psychology students, as well as trainees in Occupational, Speech and Music Therapy and in special education.

Unit at a Glance
Number of Day Care Visits per Year - 5500
Director - Prof. Doron Gothelf
Address - The Child Development Center Building
E-mail -Doron.Gothelf@sheba.health.gov.il
Tel - 972-3-530-2663