Specialized Mental Health Services for Younger Patients

Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health

In addition to the regular pressures of growing up today, some children and teens also struggle with behavioral disorders or mental illnesses that require professional help. Treating children’s and teen’s mental health concerns requires specialized training. Penn Highlands offers specialized pediatric and adolescent behavioral health experts, including psychiatrists, psychologists, physician assistants, licensed clinical social workers and licensed professional counselors.

Child and Adolescent Outpatient Behavioral Health Care

At the Penn Highlands DuBois Behavioral Health Center, located on the PH DuBois East Campus along Maple Avenue, we offer psychiatric evaluation, medication management, psychological assessment, and individual and family psychotherapy for patients under age 18. Our team at Penn Highlands Healthcare provides adolescents and children with a variety of outpatient counseling, therapies, and assessments for mild to severe behavioral health conditions including ADD, ADHD, anxiety, autism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, stress, depression, and developmental problems.

Child and Adolescent Inpatient Behavioral Health Care

For children and teens ages 5 to 18 whose behavioral health disorder requires more intensive care, we provide inpatient behavioral health services. Our team in the Child and Adolescent Unit, located on the Penn Highlands DuBois East Campus, offers personalized care to children and adolescents who are exhibiting behavioral health problems that impair their ability to function in the home and/or school environment or may be endangering their health or the safety of others.

The Penn Highlands child and adolescent inpatient unit operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and has 11 private and semi-private rooms, a classroom, dining room, recreational lounge, and therapy offices. It is access-controlled for patient safety.

Patients are seen daily by a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and members of our multidisciplinary treatment team. The clinical program is based upon thorough diagnostic evaluation including psychiatric, physical, social, and psychological assessments. Treatment includes counseling, medication, and other therapies along with continual assessment of progress.

Classroom instruction with a certified special education teacher enables patients to keep up with their studies while hospitalized. Recreational activities are also integrated into the program on a daily basis.

How to Obtain Mental Health Care for Your Child or Adolescent

If you believe your child is struggling with a mental health issue but they are still functioning in their daily life and are NOT a danger to themselves or others, you should first speak to your pediatrician, family doctor, or primary care provider. You also can contact our Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health program by calling 814-375-6379 for information and to schedule a mental health assessment.

Referrals to the Child and Adolescent Unit can be made by schools, community mental health agencies, children and youth agencies, physicians, and other professionals in the community. Parents can take their child or adolescent in a crisis situation to the Penn Highlands DuBois Emergency Department for an assessment with a trained mental health worker for inpatient placement or outpatient services referral.