Pediatric Psychiatry

Our UF Health Psychiatry experts, including board-certified child psychiatrists, licensed psychologists, advanced registered nurse practitioners and therapists work together to offer comprehensive care by evaluating and treating children and adolescents facing mental health issues. These disorders can include various abnormalities related to thinking, feeling and/or behavior that’s not only impacting children and adolescents, but their families as well.


UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric and Adolescent Behavioral Health program is ranked among the Top 50 programs in the nation. Our team of experts is well trained in providing comprehensive care in the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents facing mental health challenges. There is help, and we are here for you.
Our team’s mission is to improve the lives of minors suffering from these conditions in the greater North Central Florida area. The UF Health Psychiatry team combines clinical innovation, research and education to achieve the best results for your child. Treatment includes a variety of options and techniques and may be delivered on an inpatient or outpatient basis depending on the severity of functional impairment or other aspects of the disorder in question.
Services
- Parent education and support
- Medication management
- Diagnostic clarification
- Psychotherapy
- School advocacy
- Psychological assessments
- Neuropsychological assessments
- Second opinions
- Physician consults
We also offer comprehensive and diagnostic evaluations for developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders in collaboration with the UF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities.
Comprehensive assessments
We provide early childhood (2 to 5 years old) psychoeducational/psychological and neuropsychological assessments to diagnose conditions, determine current functioning level and guide treatment planning. Based on the results, recommendations for appropriate interventions and resources are offered.
Evaluations are typically recommended due to concerns with the presence of:
- Academic underachievement
- Defiance and noncompliance
- Developmental delays
- Emotional outbursts/tantrums
- Hyperactivity and impulsivity
- Inattention and executive dysfunction
- Language problems
- Poor memory
- Social skills difficulties
- Visual-spatial deficits
The clinical team at UF Health Child Psychiatry – Springhill offers special programs and treatment tracks for children and, adolescents, focused on: and young adults facing:
- Autism and developmental disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Parent/child interaction therapy
- Substance use/abuse disorders
Our team of board certified child psychiatrists and psychologists have extensive experience treating the following diagnoses:
- Anxiety disorders
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Binge eating disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Bulimia nervosa
- Childhood-onset schizophrenia
- Depressive disorders
- Disruptive behavior disorders
- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Substance abuse disorders
- Tourette syndrome and tic disorders
- Trauma and stress disorders
We work with parents, families, guardians, primary care providers and medical specialists, other child-serving professionals and child advocates to develop individualized treatment plans for each child or adolescent in our care. Some of the types of therapy we offer include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Exposure/response prevention
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
- Habit reversal therapy
- Mental health consultation to medical providers and other child-serving professionals
- Parent/child interaction therapy
- Psychopharmacology
- Social skills therapy
Call (352) 265-4357 or fill out an online appointment request form today. There is help, and we are here for you.