About
Who we are
Chestnut Hill Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a practice based in the suburbs of Philadelphia with a focus on children (4 years old and above) and adolescents / young adults (up to the age of 24 years old). We have decades of combined experience with the many schools and mental health resources in the area which means that we can quickly tailor a treatment plan for our patient even for the most complex cases.
- We limit our patient census so that we can give each child the attention that is required to treat this special population.
- Our staff has extensive training in the most modern and evidence based interventions and medications.
- We place special emphasis on school and academic performance as our goal is to prepare patients for adulthood and achieve their full potential.
Our psychiatrists are all medical doctors who are multi-boarded and, unlike some psychiatric practices, have significant medical expertise which allows them to consider medical factors in a child's presentation that may otherwise be overlooked.
Learn MoreOur Process
evaluation and treatment
In order to help our patients, our first question is 'what are your goals?'
Psychiatrist and psychologist are all experts who can provide help but if your goals are not understood we can't help.
- Reasons for seeking a mental health provider may be as simple as wanting someone to continue a preexisting treatment regimen, or as complex as diagnosing an unknown condition, providing treatment, and coordinating interdisciplinary care.
- We start with the simple question of what do you wish to see as a result of our intervention. Then in order to help create a plan to get to these goals we will ask for relevant history which includes not only medical and mental health issues but also social, family, and school.
Often times the goals are not completely known at the outset. If so, that is not a problem. We will take the time to work with you to understand the issues and help define your goals.
A focused initial evaluation is critical for effective treatment
Once outcome goals are identified, we will conduct an evaluation whose aims are to not only understand the possible factors contibuting to the patient's presentation but to gather information that helps us to understand the patient as a whole.
Patients are not simply not a collection of symptoms. Directing treatment based solely on symptoms can cause root causes of problems to go unidentified and possibly worsen.
- Each patients and their family experience a novel set of challenges from their symptoms and often may wish to prioritize the issues in a novel way.
- There is very little need for treatment of a symptom which is causing minimal impairment in the patient's current and future life
- Conversely, there are issues which may not have been previously identified which may interfere with the patient and family's long-term goals.
- We take a modern holistic view of the patient and evaluate the multiple domains of a patient's life in a manner that has been validated and accepted by the strongest evidence-based practices.
Good plans lead to good outcomes
Treatment planning is essential for the success of any patient-focused care and starts with an agreement on what the goals are and a proposal on how to achieve them.
- Often, treatment plans are straightforward and involve only a few interventions (e.g. therapy, medication) and clear metrics to measure progress (e.g. sleep, grades). In these and the majority of cases, the patient's care can be conducted completely in-house with no need to refer patient to other co-occurring services.
- However, when needed, we have the experience and expertise to develop and coordinate comprehensve plans involving other specialists and systems of care. For instance, we routinely work with neurologists, gastroenterologists, and developmental pediatricians to coordinate and integrate medical with psychiatric care.
- Interdisciplinary planning doesn't just mean other medical specialties. Many times the optimal plan involves coordinating with other systems including schools, educational attorneys and advocates, as well as state agencies to provide funding for your child's care.
Planning, coordination, and execution of complex treatment plans is a core skill of ours which benefits you and your child.
Monitoring response and progress toward goals
Once formal treatment has been started, we will follow up with the patient and their family on a regular basis. Initially, these visits may be more frequent as we start different interventions and coordinate with other providers. Eventually, once "maintenance-mode" is established, visits may be as infrequent as once every 2-3 months.
Regular follow up ensures that treatment is progressing as expected and modifications can be made in a timely manner. It is not uncommon to modify the treatment plan itself as a patient grows and demands change.
- As with most of our services, follow us visits can usually be conducted virtually for the convenience of our clients.
Follow up appointments will include medication-focused visits with our doctors as well as sessions with our therapists. - We welcome participation in these follow up appointments from other providers and important individuals in the patient's life. These "collateral sources" provide valuable information and feeback which can help direct our care
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Services
What we offer
Medication Management
If our treatment plan involves medications, or if your child already has a regimen that needs to be modified we can provide this service in person or remotely via telemedicine
Psychiatric Evaluation
Psychiatric evaluations are conducted as a part of every new patient intake. Evaluations can also be requested for purposes other than treatment (for instance, school or gov't agency)
Psychological Testing
We use standardized validated instruments for psychological evaluations. Specialized testing (e.g.: neuro-psychiatric) may require a referral to one of our partner provider
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy involves a number of approaches and modalities of which the most common include CBT, insight-oriented, and supportive therapies.
Family and Group Therapy
Family therapy is the most common form of group therapy when treating children. Other focused groups are available when there is sufficient demand.
School Advocacy / IEPs
As the majority of our patients are children, a major stress in their lives is school. We routinely advocate for our patients directly or through our provider partners.
Testimonials
Feedback we've received
I just wanted to share my gratitude... I have my daughter back and I can't thank him enough
Eileen V.
mother of patient
extremely professional, skilled , attentive, and at the same time, he is a wonderful human being who cares immensely about his patients
Giotta S.
mother of patient
thank you, thank you, thank you to Dr Kim!
Tiffany R.
mother of patient
Dr. Kim deserves extra kudos for his professionalism and spot on diagnosis of my issue
Richard M.
adult patient
... took my ADHD seriously, and he's nice and he listens
Sarah D.
college-bound patient
F.A.Q
Frequently Asked Questions
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What age range do you see?
Our focus is on children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 24. We routinely see children as young as 4-5 years old, and occasionally see adults who are parents of our patients. We will treat parents only when our familiarity with the family would be a clear benefit in the treatment of the parent and facilitate care of the child.
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What kind of things do you treat?
We treat most everything from the common to the complex. Since mood, anxiety, and ADHD are so prevalent in the population much of what we treat are issues related to these conditions but the severity of these issues vary considerably. We have a great deal of experience in treating children on the autism spectrum and their special challenges. We also treat children with a range of developmental conditions requiring coordination of care over multiple systems of care.
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How can you help my special needs child?
We have at our disposal a range of tools which will help us and you fully understand in which domains of functioning your child has the greatest potential as well as those which may present a challenge.
Our strength in treating this population is not only in our diagnostic expertise but our experience in coordinating complex plans involving numerous other providers and systems of care.
We routinely interface with your child's other doctors to fully understand the patient's health conditions and how they impact their functioning. -
My child is doing poorly in school. Can you give a medication to help them?
Though many of our patient struggle with this problem and we all wish improving academic performance was as simple as prescribing a medication, it seldom is. We will take the time to understand your child and identify all the factors which may be preventing them from achieving their potential.
Often this will mean coordinating with their school, helping them obtain an IEP (or 504 plan), or provide therapy that help them overcome their difficulties. Often we will recommend medical interventions such as medications to treat ADHD but also routinely diagnose and treat other conditions such as disorderd sleep or eating, and neurological issues. -
Do you treat eating disorders?
We more commonly diagnose previously unrecognized (or undertreated) eating disorders, or provide step-down treatment for those individuals who have been treated at a higher level of care for more serious illness. In certain cases, where there is not significant medical issues, we might have the ability to treat or stabilize a patient with the goal of maintaining them until they can be referred to a specialized clinic or residential facility.
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Will you take over prescribing my child's medication from another doctor?
In most cases, when we can contact your child's previous provider and obtain an up-to-date history of their condtion and previous treatment, the answer is yes. We will not always recommend continuing the current regimen but will always discuss with your child and yourself the risks/benefits of current medication(s) and possible alternatives. The benefit we provide is regular follow up visits where we can contiuously reassess the continued need for medication and/or modification of the regimen.
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Do you take insurance?
We do not take insurance but can assist in providing to you the necessary documentation to obtain reimbursement from your insurance carrier. This does not mean we have no contact with your insurance as we routinely interact with them to justify procedures, interventions, and medications.