Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta announced a $10 million gift from Michele and David Hirsch earmarked for behavioral and mental health services. This transformational donation will support the development of a transdisciplinary program that will treat behavioral impairments in children with complex neuropsychiatric conditions.
Under the leadership of John Constantino, MD, Children’s Chief of Behavioral and Mental Health, the program will bring together experts across multiple disciplines to provide the most advanced interventions possible for children with neurologic or medical conditions complicated by severe behavioral impairment, including early signs and symptoms of severe chronic mental health conditions expected to persist into adulthood, or other behavioral conditions resistant to conventional treatment in the community. The clinical team will consist of psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, behavior analysts, and individual and family therapists. Genetic testing will be incorporated into evaluation, and a discovery arm of the program will engage experts in genetics, neurosurgery, and advanced therapeutics to explore the application of new technologies to medical intervention for selected patients.
“We are deeply grateful to the Hirsch family for their generosity and their commitment to improving the lives of children and youth who struggle with some of the most difficult-to-treat mental health conditions,” said Dr. Constantino.
Once established, the program aims to treat hundreds of patients per year over the next five years. Goals of the program include provision of the following elements of care:
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Coordinated behavioral intervention for children with joint psychiatric and developmental disorders
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Psychotherapies tailored to the medical or neurologic conditions causing or complicating a presenting behavioral syndrome
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Expert psychopharmacology when necessary and appropriate
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State-of-the-art intervention for obsessive…
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