Child Study Center Outpatient Therapy Clinic

The Child Study Center Outpatient Therapy Clinic serves the entire state of Arkansas, with over 1,000 new patients referred each year. The Center is operated in conjunction with the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute. This clinic primarily treats children of ages preschool through 13, along with their parents or guardians. Located at the David M. Clark Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Child Study Center’s highly-trained specialists can provide a personalized treatment plan for children with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties.

How Our Clinic Works

Each child will receive a thorough assessment, which consists of clinical interviews, mental status exams and reviews of existing evaluation or historical data. Based on this assessment, treatment is initiated or appropriate referrals are made for psychological evaluations and subsequent treatment plan recommendations. Consultation from a child psychiatrist, psychiatric social worker or other mental health specialist is available as needed.

If accepted for therapy, the Child Study Center offers comprehensive specialized treatments including trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, and child-parent psychotherapy.

Conditions we can assess (but do not treat) include:

• Specific learning disorders
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Intellectual disability

Medication Management

Medication management, in combination with psychotherapy, can be an important part of the overall plan of care for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. Our medication management clinic is a teaching clinic with close supervision by full-time faculty. Every child is seen by a resident physician being trained to provide quality child and adolescent psychiatric care in consultation with a fully-trained faculty attending physician.

Our physicians conduct thorough psychiatric evaluations of children and adolescents and formulate an individualized treatment plan in collaboration with their families and therapists. Our primary goal is to best meet the needs of our patients to maximize success in school, social, and family interactions. Part of the advantage of a teaching clinic is that the latest research and evidence-based interventions are considered when forming an overall treatment plan.

Our Policy on Medication Management

All prescriptions should be taken as directed. It is very important to make and keep follow-up appointments to allow appropriate monitoring of your medication. Note: we do not refill medication by phone.

Good care of your child requires that we do a proper assessment of how your child is responding to their medication before renewing it. This is especially true for controlled substances like stimulant medications and benzodiazepines. Before you leave your appointment, your doctor will make sure that you know how many days your prescription will last and will ensure both you and our staff know when you need to schedule your next appointment to make sure you do not run out of medication. If you are unable to come to your next appointment, make sure you schedule another appointment before your medication runs out. Some medications cannot be stopped abruptly. In an emergency, we will ask you to come to the clinic for an urgent appointment.

Psychotherapy at the Child Study Center

Our therapists work with both the child and his or her caregiver to provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions to treat a wide range of emotional and behavioral disorders. Specifically, therapists utilize a group of short-term psychological interventions called cognitive behavioral therapy to help children and families learn coping skills to manage current difficulties and symptoms. Specific types of CBT interventions are frequently used to treat anxiety, depression, traumatic stress, and behavioral difficulties.

Additionally, therapists at the Child Study Center are trained in highly specialized treatments that are not widely available in other clinics.

Please park in spots marked for patient parking.

The Child Study Center Outpatient Therapy Clinic is by referral only. Your child’s primary care physician should send a new patient referral to our fax number above. Once we receive the referral, our staff will contact you regarding the next steps for scheduling an appointment.

Evening appointments are available Monday through Friday by special arrangement.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

For your first appointment, please bring a photo ID and your insurance card along with a list of any medications you’re taking, including over-the-counter medications. You should also bring any medical records you can provide, including slides or test results from other clinics.

Children must be accompanied to the mental health and psychiatric assessment appointment by their parent and/or legal guardian. The parent and/or legal guardian must attend family sessions as prescribed by the treatment plan.

For future appointments, please provide updated medical and insurance information.