Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Division of Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry provides an array of clinical services though efforts of 6 child & adolescent psychiatrists, 3 child & adolescent psychologists, 10 advanced trainees in fields of child & adolescent psychology and child & adolescent psychiatry, and 8 clinicians who are on the staff of the Bingham Clinic. These services cover a broad range of clinical disorders, provide a continuum of care for the community, and serve as a local and regional resource for the most complex psychiatric problems of children and adolescents.
If you are interested in applying for the Department of Psychiatry's Child and Adolescent Residency Program, please click here for more information.
The Ackerly Child Inpatient Unit
The Ackerly Child Inpatient Unit at Kosair Children’s Hospital recently has expanded to 20 beds. The Ackerly Unit provides intensive diagnostic and treatment services for severely disturbed children and adolescents. These services include psychiatric and psychological evaluation, individual, group and family therapies, and educational evaluations. Many children require medical evaluations in the coordination of psychiatric treatment; this is provided by consultants from the Kosair Children’s Hospital. Hospitalizations are as brief as possible and discharge planning is initiated at the time of admission to allow the most appropriate follow up care to be provided. Ackerly has become a regional referral center with an excellent reputation.
Outpatient at Bingham Clinic
The Bingham Clinic, formerly known as the Bingham Child Guidance Center, has been in existence since 1913, and is one of the oldest child guidance centers in the country. For over two generations, the clinic has been a vital part of the activities of the department of psychiatry of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. The clinic provides outpatient psychiatric services for local children and for children throughout the region. These services include careful psychiatric and psychological evaluation and treatments including pharmacotherapy, individual psychotherapy, family therapy and education. Unique aspects of outpatient services include: evaluation and coordination of care of autistic children; evaluation of children who set fires; treatments for children with chronic illness; assessment and treatment of adolescent females with sexual behavior problems; and specialized family consultations.
The Bingham Clinic Welcomes Two New Faculty Members
Jennifer Le, M.D., recently joined the UofL faculty as an assistant professor of child, adolescent and family psychiatry. She is practicing at the Bingham Clinic, evaluating, diagnosing and treating children and adolescents with psychiatric illnesses. In her role at the Bingham Clinic, she also assists in linking families with community support resources. She also sees patients at Kosair Children's Hospital, where she is an attending physician on the Ackerly Child Psychiatry Unit. Le received her medical degree from the University of Louisville in 2002 and completed her residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Le is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, the Kentucky Psychiatric Medical Association and the Greater Louisville Medical Society.
Laura Schaffer, Ph.D., has joined the UofL faculty as an assistant professor of child, adolescent and family psychiatry and as director of postdoctoral and internship, the psychology residency programs in the division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Shaffer earned her doctorate degree in child clinical psychology from the University of Denver in 2002. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Health in 2004. Shaffer has published academic papers on the subject of adolescent psychology, and her work addresses topics such as the role of romantic relationships in adolescent development, other-sex friendships in adolescence and adolescent sexuality. Shaffer will conduct outpatient assessments and individual and family psychotherapy in the Bingham Clinic and serve as psychological consultant to the Healthy for Life program in the department of pediatrics. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Kentucky Psychological Association.
The Keller Day Treatment Program
The Keller Day Treatment Program provides treatment for children too unstable to receive only outpatient care yet stable enough to exist outside of the hospital. Treatments include individual, group, family and expressive therapies provided in a structures therapeutic environment. The program runs six hours per day, five days per week and also offers individualized instruction in special education classrooms. Services are provided in the renovated Male High School Building and the typical census ranges from 12-14. Referrals come from outpatient psychiatric clinicians as well as schools.
The Keller Day Treatment Program Welcomes Brandi Jones, Ph.D.
Brandi Jones, Ph.D., has joined the UofL faculty as an assistant professor of child, adolescent and family psychiatry and she serves as the director of the Keller Day Treatment Program at the Bingham Clinic. Jones is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, from which she received her doctorate degree, and she completed an internship and a post-doctoral fellowship at Indiana University. Her work has focused on the psychological issues that face adolescent girls. Jones has published and present data on adjustment issues as they relate to the socioeconomic status and she is involved with several professional organizations including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.
Jones will also deliver outpatient psychological services in the Bingham Outpatient Clinic.
Consultation Liaison Services
The Division provides an active Consultation Liaison Services to the pediatric wards of Kosair Children’s Hospital. Helping children of families cope with illness and the effects of trauma as well as acute sequelae of suicide attempts are the most common interventions provided. The Consultation Team includes the Chief of the Service, a Child & Adolescent Psychologist, and consulting trainees in both psychology and psychiatry. This program has expanded to provide specialty consultation services to cystic fibrosis and hematology and oncology patients. The service identifies patients for the outpatient CHIRP Program. The service evaluates approximately 500 children per year. The Kosair Children’s Hospital Emergency Room is the primary receiving facility for acute child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies. The Division provides 24-hour coverage for this service, including face to face consultations throughout the week and emergency consultations on the weekend. The service evaluates approximately 800-1,000 children per year.
Contact Us
For appointments or questions for any of these services, please contact the Bingham Clinic at (502) 852-6941.
