Behavioral & mental health
How mental health care works inside our pediatric office
We screen every child from 12 for depression and anxiety, treat mild and moderate cases here, and refer with a tracked handoff when a child needs a therapist or psychiatrist. This is what that looks like on an ordinary Tuesday.
In 2021 the American Academy of Pediatrics and two other national bodies declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. Nothing since has reversed it. Emergency departments across metro Atlanta see more children in crisis than they did before the pandemic, and waits for therapy and psychiatry are months long. A pediatric office cannot solve that, but it can do a great deal before a child reaches an emergency. Here is what we do.
We ask, every time
From age 12, every well visit includes a standard depression and anxiety questionnaire, and time alone with the doctor. Younger children get behavior and development screening at well visits, and we ask parents at every visit how things are at home and school. Most problems come to light because someone asked.
We treat what can be treated here
Mild to moderate anxiety and depression, ADHD, sleep problems and behavior problems in young children are managed in this office: counseling in the visit, parent guidance, medication when it is the right tool, and follow-up every two to four weeks until things are steady. Dr. Viswanadham has additional training in behavioral health and Adam Ayer’s background is in pediatric neurology and surgical nursing; between them, a lot can be handled without a referral.
We refer with a handoff, not a phone number
When a child needs a therapist, a psychologist for testing, or a psychiatrist, the referral goes out with our screening scores and history, we track it until the first appointment happens, and we ask for the note back. Families are not sent to find care alone. See how our closed-loop referrals work.
We work with the school
Letters for 504 plans, communication with counselors, and the paperwork for accommodations are part of care here, at no separate charge. A child with anxiety who cannot get through the school day needs the school and the doctor on the same page.
We know the crisis resources
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (1-800-715-4225) and the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta emergency departments are the same-day options for a child who is not safe. We give every teen and parent those numbers at the well visit, before they are needed.
What we do not claim
We are a primary care practice. We do not provide ongoing psychotherapy in the office, and we do not treat severe or complex psychiatric illness alone. What we can promise is that a family who raises a concern here will be heard the same week, will leave with a plan, and will not be left to manage the plan by themselves.
If you have noticed a change in your child’s mood, sleep, appetite, friendships or schoolwork that has lasted more than two weeks, call. A conversation is the first step, and it starts here.
