Child Psychiatry began at MGH as a consultation service to Pediatrics in the 1930's and became a formal department in 1947. Since that time, the Child Psychiatry Service of the Massachusetts General Hospital has been recognized for its leadership in patient care, research, and teaching. Since 1979, Dr. Michael Jellinek has served as Chief of Child Psychiatry. The core staff now consists of 33 child psychiatrists, 13 child psychologists, 2 clinical social workers, 18 child psychiatry residents, and 2 child psychology interns. Additionally, 14 child psychiatrists and 7 clinical psychologists serve in teaching and supervisory capacities.

Our staff provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with the full spectrum of psychiatric conditions and behavioral or emotional difficulties. In addition to our general psychiatric services, we provide specialty services for children who have medical illnesses complicated by emotional or behavioral disorders that may co-occur. Our consultation-liaison service provides psychiatric, psychological and psychosocial support for the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children inpatient and outpatient medical services. These services include diagnostic evaluations, consultations on the psychopharmacologic and behavioral management of medically ill children, and work with children and families to help them following discharge from the hospital. Psychological testing for psychiatric and cognitive problems is available from the Psychological Assessment Center.

Our clinicians provide 24 hour a day coverage to the MGH Acute Psychiatry Service for children. Inpatient evaluation and treatment are available through McLean Hospital. McLean Hospital provides clinical programs and special education schools that complement the MGH child psychiatry services. The McLean-Franciscan Inpatient Unit in Brighton serves youth ages 3 to 19. The Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment Unit in Belmont additionally offers substance abuse relapse prevention and specialized treatment for adolescents at risk for long-term psychosocial dysfunction. The Klarman Eating Disorder Center in Belmont serves females ages 13 to 22. The McLean child and adolescent inpatient, outpatient, and therapeutic school programs are all described in greater detail on the McLean Hospital website.

MGH/McLean child psychiatry and psychology training programs are consistently ranked among the best in the country, enabling us to select candidates from the top medical and undergraduate schools in the U.S. In turn, many of our graduates move quickly into positions of leadership in the field.

Many of our clinicians are actively engaged in research that directly or indirectly enhances patient care. Staff from our department are internationally recognized for their expertise in the areas of Attention Deficit, Bipolar, Obessive Compulsive, Anxiety, Oppositional Defiant and Eating Disorders and coping with medical illness. and in providing clinical services represented in this expertise including behavioral medicine, cognitive-behavior therapy, pediatric consultation liason, pediatric psychopharmacology, psychosocial assessment in pediatrics, sports psychology, adoption, custody, and child abuse.