Helping Children Cope With Emotional & Behavioral Aspects of Physical Illness
Children with physical illness face all the medical challenges of their condition as well as the psychological trials that may arise as they cope with their illness. There may be emotional bumps during the child's many developmental stages for both the child and family.
Our pediatric behavioral health specialists are available to help children and families cope with the emotional and behavioral aspects of a child's physical illness. This includes the following:
- Psychiatric testing & evaluation
- Neuropsychological evaluation
- Medication management
- Individual therapy
Find a Specialist
A Relationship Created for the Best Pediatric Care
For pediatric specialty care, Intermountain Children's Health is affiliated with University of Utah Health. U of U Health physicians see patients at Primary Children's Hospital on campus, Lehi Primary Children's, and other locations throughout the Salt Lake City valley.
It's a shared mission of providing health care, education, and research. It comes to life through collaboration on clinical care, research, and educational programs.
Primary Children's Hospital operates as the main pediatric facility for the U of U Health system, providing care in more than 60 medical and surgical specialties such as surgery, oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, and others. Most of the providers at Primary Children's Hospital are faculty members at U of U Health.
This partnership delivers care to advance pediatric medicine while educating future generations of health care professionals.
Additional Location
PCH's Wasatch Canyon Campus
5770 South 1500 West
Taylorsville, UT 84123
Phone: 801-313-7711
Services
Residential Care (Adolescent and Latency Age)
This 28-bed unit serves adolescents (14–18) and latency (6–14) ages with these serious conditions:
- emotional,
- psychiatric,
- chemical dependency, and
- dual diagnosis disorders.
The program includes accredited academic setting; group, individual and family therapy; recreation therapy; parent education; and medication management.
Chemical Dependency Treatment
We offer residential short-term and long-term treatment for substance abuse and detoxification. Outpatient and partial hospitalization/day treatment services are also available.
Day Treatment Services
Serves adolescents (14–18) and latency (6–14) ages with these serious conditions:
- emotional,
- psychiatric,
- chemical dependency, and
- dual diagnosis disorders.
The program includes accredited academic setting; group, individual and family therapy, recreation therapy, parent education and medication management in a less restrictive setting.
Monday through Friday, from 8 am–5 pm
Outpatient Care
This multidisciplinary outpatient clinic serves children ages 3–18 with a wide range of services. We provide:
- intake evaluation,
- medication management,
- individual therapy, psychological testing, and
- psycho-educational assessments.
Monday through Friday from 8 am–8 pm
Specialty Outpatient Care for Patients with Co-Occurring Medical Illness
This multidisciplinary outpatient clinic serves children ages 3–18 who are medically complex and have behavioral health-related issues.
Services include:
- intake evaluations,
- medication management,
- individual therapy,
- psychological and neuropsychological testing, and
- psycho-educational assessments.
Services are provided Monday through Friday from 8 am–8 pm.
Eating Disorder Program
Serves both adolescents and latency ages with eating disorders. Program offered in residential, inpatient, and outpatient settings.
Examples of Care
Even in adults, it takes maturity, patience, and solid self-esteem to manage a physical illness or condition. Children with physical illness often develop these characteristics at amazingly young ages.
Every member of the family, however, may need help coping with challenges at times. Our specialists provide support during these times of adjustment for the child and the family during the child’s short or long-term illness.
Examples of support include:
- At what age is a child with diabetes or PKU old enough to understand what he can and can’t eat?
- How does a parent set boundaries and discipline a child who may not survive to be an adult?
- How does a teenager with an organ transplant cope with the round face and thick hair growth from steroids?
- How does the teen with diabetes balance medical compliance with peer pressure and the need to blend in?
- At what age does the parent begin to step back and allow the child to be responsible for his own health decisions and consequences?
- How can the child adjust emotionally to physical loss of a limb, of mobility, of mental capacity?
- How can a parent handle guilt that may arise from realizing the child’s problems are the result of the parent’s genes?
