Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Services We Provide

Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine team specializes in providing short-term, evidence-based care for children and teens. The services we offer to your child depend on your child’s condition, the special training and skills of our providers and the openings we have.  

These are our specialty clinics and programs:

  • Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
    • Who we see: Children and adolescents ages 13 to 17.
    • What we offer: Intensive mental health treatment and services 6 hours a day, 5 days a week.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s Seattle Children’s provider or their primary care provider, mental health therapist, psychiatrist or school counselor for a referral.
    • Read more about the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program.
  • Autism Center
    • Who we see: Children and youth ages 15 months to 21 years old who have autism spectrum disorder.
    • What we offer: Diagnostic evaluation; a wide array of treatment programs in individual and group settings; referrals to other care and resources; research to better understand the causes and treatments for autism.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s primary care provider for a referral.
    • Read more about the Autism Center. 
  • Behavior and Attention Management Program
    • Who we see: Children and teens ages 5 to 15 with disruptive behavior or attention problems and their families.
    • What we offer: Consult visits, diagnostic evaluations, classes, group training for caregivers, groups for caregivers and children or teens together, Disruptive Behavior Crisis Clinic and 1-on-1 training for caregivers of children with the most serious defiant or aggressive behaviors.
    • How to request care: Ask your child's primary care provider for a referral.
    • Read more about the Behavior and Attention Management Program.
  • Behavioral Health Crisis Care Clinic
    • Who we see: Children and teens who are having a suicidal crisis that is not an emergency.
    • What we offer: We provide quick access to 1 to 4 visits.
    • How to request care: Community providers, parents and caregivers may call Outpatient Psychiatry Triage at 206-987-2164, option 2, to see if we have openings and place a referral by phone.
    • Read more about the Behavioral Health Crisis Care Clinic.
  • Child and Adolescent Latino Mental Health Assessment and Treatment (CALMA) Clinic/Servicio de Evaluación y Tratamiento de Salud Mental para niños y adolescentes de la comunidad latina

    Español

    • Pacientes que vemos: niños y adolescentes de 12 a 18 años con problemas de salud mental o de comportamiento que hablan español y a sus padres o cuidadores.
    • Lo que ofrecemos: servicio bilingüe de evaluación y tratamiento a corto plazo y terapia de grupo con base científica.
    • Como solicitar atención: puede pedirle al proveedor de atención médica de cabecera que envíe la referencia para el programa junto con sus notas por fax al 206-985-3121.
    • Más información sobre el Servicio CALMA.

    English

    • Who we see: Spanish-speaking children ages 2 to 18 who have mental health or behavior concerns and their parents and other caregivers.
    • What we offer: Bilingual evaluation and treatment, including short-term, evidence-based group treatments.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s primary care provider to submit a referral to the program by faxing a referral and notes to 206-985-3121.
    • Read more about the CALMA Clinic.
  • Disruptive Behavior Crisis Clinic
    • Who we see: Parents and caregivers of children and adolescents ages 5 to 12 who are having a behavioral crisis.
    • What we offer: We provide quick access to 4 visits for caregivers.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s provider for a referral. This clinic accepts referrals from Seattle Children’s providers, emergency department providers, primary care providers, mental health providers and school healthcare providers.
    • Read more about the Disruptive Behavior Crisis Clinic.
  • Early Childhood Clinic
    • Who we see: Children ages 4 or younger who have behavior issues, anxiety, sleep problems, neurodevelopmental problems or prenatal (before birth) exposure to alcohol or drugs. We also see children who have behavior or emotional challenges and another medical condition.
    • What we offer: Evaluation, treatment recommendations, individual and group training for parents and referrals to other care and resources.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s primary care provider for a referral.
    • Read more about the Early Childhood Clinic.
  • Mood and Anxiety Program
    • Who we see: Children ages 5 to 17 who have anxiety disorders such as separation anxiety, selective mutism, social anxiety, school refusal, panic disorder and specific phobias. In addition, we treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions, including trichotillomania, excoriation disorder and tic disorders, like Tourette syndrome. We also treat children ages 5 to 17 who have mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder.
    • What we offer: Evaluation, treatment recommendations, short-term individual therapy for children, group treatment for children and parents, medicine and referrals to other care and resources.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s primary care provider for a referral.
    • Read more about the Mood and Anxiety Program.
  • Program to Enhance Attention, Regulation and Learning (PEARL) for ADHD
    • Who we see: Children ages 5 to 15 who have attention, learning or behavior problems.
    • What we offer: Evaluation, development of a treatment plan for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related conditions, collaboration with the referring primary care provider (who provides ongoing care), medicine consultations and evaluations, follow-up consultations, second opinions and access to behavioral treatment group programs and research studies.
    • How to request care: Ask your child’s primary care provider for a referral.
    • Read more about PEARL.

For children who need hospital-based care, we have an inpatient unit:

  • Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit (PBMU)
    • Who we see: Children ages 3 to 17 who are in crisis due to complex mental health issues. 
    • What we offer: Short-term care in the hospital during a crisis.
    • How to request care: Patients are admitted to the PBMU only after they come to an emergency room and providers there decide they would benefit from an inpatient stay.
    • Read more about the PBMU.

We also offer:

Services in the Community

Services are available in the community for these needs. We do not offer these services:

If you’re seeking services that we do not offer, please also try Washington’s Mental Health Referral Service for Children and Teens. This service connects families with mental health providers in your local area who fit your child’s mental health needs. The Washington State Health Care Authority funds the service, and Seattle Children’s operates it.

How to Get Services

We often have more requests from new patients than we have openings. To make an appointment, you need a referral from your child’s primary care provider. Learn more about how to get mental health services at Seattle Children’s.

If you have a referral, call 206-987-2164.

Providers, see how to refer a patient.

In crisis?

If you, your child, family or friend needs help right away, call or text 988. Chat is another option. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress, as well as prevention and crisis resources. The Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.

Hotlines for Youth (PDF) provides other options for immediate help for children and teens. (Also available in Amharic, Arabic, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.)