Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Our Mission

The mission of this area includes research, training, and clinical care for child and adolescent disorders, as well as their prevention. The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry includes over 120 faculty members, grouped into research and clinical domains, with many faculty members also participating in research or clinical training. Their research is funded by federal and state government, foundations, philanthropy, and industry. Clinical work is conducted at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and ColumbiaDoctors, as well as in school and community settings. Major accomplishments over the years include:

• Developing structured diagnostic interviews and delineation of criteria for the major childhood and adolescent disorders
• Establishing the efficacy of major medication classes in key disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and major depression
• Developing and demonstrating the efficacy of psychotherapy modalities for anxiety and depression
• Identifying screening approaches, risk factors, and preventive measures for teen suicide

What sets the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry apart is the excellence of our research, clinical, and training programs. The partnership between the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute brings together the best of innovative research, diligent training, and exemplary clinical care.

Research Goals

• To understand the risk factors, pathophysiology, and course of developmental disorders and childhood psychopathology
• To develop and test new treatment approaches, outcome measures, and diagnostic tools
• To train child psychiatrists and psychologists in evidence-based and neuroscience-informed assessment and treatment
• To translate and implement research evidence into community-based services that fit within the NYP and New York State Office of Mental Health (NYS-OMH) systems of care

Current Research

The Division has maintained historical strengths while pivoting to add new methodology and new faculty. Our research has increasingly prioritized the use of neuroscience to understand the developmental roots of psychopathology. We continue to build on Columbia’s rich history of epidemiological sampling and longitudinal assessment while now incorporating neuroscience and technology.