The Child Consult Liaison Psychiatry team provides psychological and emotional assessment and support to children and adolescents who have medical or surgical problems. It also provides a service to parents and brothers and sisters. It is located on level three of Starship.
The sort of problems they help with include:
- adjusting to, and coping with, illness or injury
- emotional and/or behavioural problems in a child with illness or injury
- treatment compliance problems, e.g. fear of needles, special diets, difficult treatments, management of pain in children and adolescents
- feeding difficulties
- parental and family difficulties coping with a child’s illness
- grief and bereavement counselling.
They offer a range of interventions:
- assessment
- cognitive behavioural therapy
- child therapy and counselling
- family therapy
- medication
- neuropsychological assessments
- assessment for daypatient and inpatient treatment.
The team consists of:
- child psychiatrists
- clinical psychologists
- neuropsychologists
- psychotherapists
- nurse specialists
- social workers/therapists
This service liaises closely with the child’s medical or surgical team and also with any other involved service e.g. general practitioner, school, physiotherapist, Special Education Services.