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New York University School of Medicine Establishes New Department Dedicated to the Study and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders

Only Second Independent Department in the Nation to Focus on Children’s Mental Health; 80% of Children in the U.S. with Mental Health Needs Are Not Receiving Care

NEW YORK, October 4, 2006 – New York University School of Medicine announced today the establishment of a new department dedicated to the study and treatment of child and adolescent psychiatry. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will be chaired by Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Founder and Director of the NYU Child Study Center, and is only the second independent department of a major university in the United States to devote its extraordinary resources to the critically important mission of researching, treating, and ultimately alleviating the suffering of 12 million young patients and their families.

"We are confident that the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will develop breakthrough treatments that battle the devastating impact of mental disorders in both children and adolescents," said John Sexton, President of New York University. "The Department’s keystone, the NYU Child Study Center, is a vital component of our medical school and university, and we are committed to playing a defining role in the treatment of disorders that pose a grave public health risk and collectively fuel some of the nation’s most intractable problems – from violence and suicide to drug abuse and homelessness."

"The creation of a department at New York University devoted solely to the study and treatment of children’s psychiatric disorders positions us to shift the current paradigm by assembling a team of experts to aggressively research and treat mental illness in much the same way that cancer, heart disease, and other serious health issues are addressed," said Robert M. Glickman, M.D., Dean of the NYU School of Medicine. "We will continue our careful integration of science and clinical services with our training and outreach programs. We will be at the forefront of advances in the genetics and microbiology of psychiatric disorders while being totally dedicated to eliminating the social stigma that plagues our young patients and their families."

Departmental designation in the field of academic medicine means greater Medical School support in terms of capital and human resources, permanence, standing, and autonomy. These are all factors which speak to an institution’s ability to recruit leading scientists, conduct groundbreaking research, make faculty appointments, and develop and expand the best clinical services available. The Child Study Center brings to the new department six endowed chairs.

"There is a critical shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists in this country, and that has a ripple effect on delinquency, school drop out rates, teen suicide, adolescent substance abuse, and school violence," said Dr. Koplewicz. "The development of this facility will provide revolutionary new approaches to research in child mental health that will have a transformative impact on treatment of child psychiatric disorders similar to that of the Salk and Sabin vaccines on polio."

Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., Founder and Director of the NYU Child Study Center, is the Arnold and Debbie Simon Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Professor of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine; Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Bellevue Hospital Center; and Executive Director of the New York State Office of Mental Health’s Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research.

In February, New York State Governor George Pataki announced a $30 million commitment to create a New York State Center of Excellence at the Child Study Center, as part of a $200 million investment in children’s mental health by New York State and the philanthropic community. The new state-of-the-art Child Study Center will be the largest child and adolescent treatment, research, and training center in the world, will take an integrated, scientific approach to revolutionize child and adolescent mental health in America. This investment also includes $35 million to rebuild Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center in Rockland County in partnership with the NYU Child Study Center, demonstrating a statewide commitment to the improvement of mental health services.

"This is a historic step in support of something many of us have known for a long while – children are not simply little adults," said Thomas F. Anders, M.D., President of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Emeritus), UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute. "Pediatrics has long been a separate department from general internal medicine. Establishing only the second child and adolescent psychiatry department in over 80 years raises the bar for other universities around the country."

"When we founded the Child Study Center in 1998, we knew it had the potential to become a national leader in the field of children’s mental health," said NYU Child Study Center Board Chair Brooke Garber Neidich. "These disorders can rob children of their ability to learn, to make and keep friends, and to enjoy life. With the additional resources we will have as a department, we will be able to expand our research capacity and enhance our treatment capabilities, and really change the lives of children."

The projected need for child and adolescent psychiatrists in the United States is estimated to be 30,000. Currently, there are fewer than 7,000. In an effort to further combat this shortage, the Child Study Center launched this fall a new undergraduate minor in child and adolescent mental health designed to encourage students with a natural interest and inclination toward careers in social work, education and special education, psychology, law, medicine, sociology, nursing, public health, scientific journalism, and psychiatry, to consider focusing their future career in some significant capacity on children and adolescents.

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NYU Child Study Center – Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The NYU Child Study Center is dedicated to the understanding, prevention, and treatment of child and adolescent mental health problems. The Center offers expert psychiatric services for children and families with emphasis on early diagnosis and intervention. The Center's mission is to bridge the gap between science and practice, integrating the finest research with patient care and state-of-the-art training, utilizing the resources of the New York University School of Medicine. The NYU Child Study Center offers a variety of mental health services for children, adolescents, young adults and their families. Child and Family Associates is the clinical arm of the NYU Child Study Center and the point of entry for all clinical programs. Its goal is to bring together research-supported evaluations and treatments with an individualized and family-centered approach. The Child Study Center was founded in 1998 and established as the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry within the NYU School of Medicine in 2006.

On the web at: www.AboutOurKids.org