Massachusetts General Hospital | Psychiatry

Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

The Child and Adolescent Consultation Service to Pediatrics has three basic patient care goals. The first is to consult with the pediatric staff in establishing an appropriate diagnosis. Second, guided by psychodynamic principles and a clinical understanding of the medical disorder, the Service works to ease the suffering of severely ill children and their families. The third goal is to understand and support the medical and nursing staff's sustained and stressful management of hospitalized children and their families.

Under the leadership of Annah Abrams, M.D., Director, the Pediatric CL Service assists the general pediatric service at MGH with common consultation requests and various treatment interventions. The MGH Pediatric Service has 88 beds including a pediatric intensive care unit, a newborn intensive care unit, an adolescent unit and a younger children's unit. The Inpatient Consultation Service provides care to more than 300 patients each year.

Common consultation requests include: adjustment disorders, mood disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, anorexia nervosa, suicide attempts, behavior problems and organic syndromes. The Service also provides care on an outpatient basis to the hematology oncology, gastrointestinal, epilepsy, pain, endocrine, cystic fibrosis, transplant, multiple sclerosis and coordinated care clinics. Some patients are seen only for evaluation, some are seen for evaluation and disposition, and the majority are seen for evaluation and management.