Behavioral Health
A message from our program leaders
Pediatric and adolescent behavioral health is a growing specialty, both in size and complexity, as the demand increases for psychological and psychiatric support. Our division embraces a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to provide compassionate and highly specialized care to treat a wide range of behavioral health-related conditions.
Pediatric psychology providers are embedded in 19 different clinical programs, serving patients at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, Children’s Medical Center Plano and several other locations throughout North Texas. Through our advocacy for access to personalized care, our division saw more than 19,000 patient visits by nearly 6,000 unique patients in 2023 alone. As an added benefit to our patients, our Neuropsychology program is one of few programs in the country offering bilingual clinical services and training in both Spanish and English for pediatric neuropsychological evaluation.
We believe collaboration is key to improving behavioral health patient outcomes. Together with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Children’s Health launched the Behavioral Health Integration and Guidance (BHIG) Initiative in 2022 to train and empower primary care providers to detect and treat common mental health conditions in children. We also partner with multiple school districts to provide nearly 800 School-based Telebehavioral Health sites throughout the region.
By meeting our patients where they are physically through improved access to care and emotionally through compassionate expertise, we strive to create a healthier future for children facing behavioral health needs.
Richard Adams, M.D.
Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics
James Norcross, M.D.
Psychiatry
Lana Harder, Ph.D., ABPP
Neuropsychology
Celia Heppner, Psy.D., ABPP
Psychology
Outcomes
Only 6% of our ED patients become psychiatric boarders, which places us in the 32nd percentile for boarder volume.
BH patients presenting to the ED, received a consultation within two hours 72% of the time, placing us at the 64th percentile.
We had 1,095 patients on antipsychotic medications, and we successfully completed metabolic screening for 65%, which places us at the 80th percentile for successful medication management.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Innovations in pediatric behavioral health: 2024 year in review
This past year, the behavioral health department at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, part of Children’s Health, has led innovations transforming pediatric behavioral health care. In partnership with UT Southwestern, we’re proud to share these advancements – which highlight our ongoing mission to make life better for children. Through groundbreaking clinical trials, new treatments and pioneering programs – we continue to be recognized among the nation’s best children’s hospitals.
Read about our latest innovations in pediatric and adolescent behavioral health below:
Training community providers to deliver mental health services
A new initiative from Children's Health℠ and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute is increasing access to front-line mental health services for children and teens. The initiative trains primary care providers throughout the country to identify and treat common mental health issues – like stress, anxiety and depression – so kids can get the interventions they need without the typical months-long wait for access. In its first year, 75 providers in Texas received training and have served more than 150,000 families.
Recognizing ADHD earlier improves support and treatment
Discover effective methods that can identify first signs that a child is struggling with age-appropriate behaviors that may warrant an ADHD screening. Early behavioral support for both patient and family are known to make a big difference for preschool-age children. Research continues to show that a combination of behavioral support and attention-enhancing medication is most effective for children elementary school-age and older.
Supporting quality of life from the get-go for children with heart conditions
The Cardiac Neurodevelopmental program at Children’s Health, one of the first of its kind in Texas, recently added four patient-centered improvements aimed at mitigating the cognitive, developmental and behavioral challenges children with heart conditions face. The initiatives improve care through developmental transitions, early screening for known risks, standardization of ongoing care, and speaking to patients and families in their dominant language.
Discover more innovations in pediatric behavioral health at Children’s Health