School Consultation

Each resident will have the experience of working with school personnel. School consultation is accomplished during the second year. This takes place at a school for children and adolescents who have been identified as in need of special treatment. It is a required rotation scheduled for one half day per week for four and a half months.

There are four components to the school consultation process:

1. Individual Child Consultation: team meets with school personnel who are involved with the child to clarify the school's questions and concerns. School personnel includes the social worker, a school administrator, a school nurse, classroom teachers, special education teachers, and the psychologists. There is an individual interview with the child, which could also include school personnel who observe the interview and how the child responds. After an interview of approximately a half hour, the team meets to discuss their ideas and perspectives. Classroom observation, and meetings with parents are at times a part of the evaluation.

2. Follow-Up of Children Seen Previously: Therapy as an ongoing modality would be best served at an established clinic, such as the Fairview-University Medical Center. The child psychiatry resident supervises and consults with the therapist who is already working with the child.

3. Didactics for School Personnel: The psychiatric team arranges continuing education lectures on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, the differential diagnoses and treatment of conduct problems, or addressing theories of child development. Hypothetical or actual cases of children displaying problems in the school are presented.

4. Administrative Issues: There is a weekly meeting of the administrative and mental health team to review systems issues and coordinate care for the children.