Mission Statement
The New York University Child Study Center is dedicated to advancing the field of child mental health for children through evidence-based practice, science and education.
The Center offers expert psychiatric and psychological services for children and their families, with emphasis on early diagnosis and intervention. Our vision is to be the premier source of child mental health information, improve and influence the practice of child mental health professionals, and in doing so, change the face of child mental health.
For more information on child mental health, parenting issues or to learn more about a particular mental health disorder, visit the AboutOurKids section.
Description
The New York University Child Study Center (CSC) was founded in 1997 at Bellevue Hospital Center, with Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., as Director. The CSC was established with a mission to improve the treatment of child psychiatric disorders by:
- Eliminating the stigma of being or having a child with a psychiatric disorder
- Conducting research and disseminating scientific findings to improve the practices of professionals serving children
- Influencing child-related public policy
Initially, the Center was devoted to scientific research in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry while its clinicians practiced under the Bellevue Department of Psychiatry umbrella. In 1998, the Center moved to its current site at 577 First Avenue, effectively housing clinicians and researchers under one roof. Over the last ten years, the Center established offices in five locations in New York City, Rockland County and Long Island. Another will soon be opened in Hackensack, N.J.
In 2006, the CSC was named the second independent Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the nation and was designated as the only New York State Center of Excellence in Mental Health. Plans are now underway to consolidate the majority of CSC services and research under one roof in a new 120,000 square-foot building on First Avenue between 25 th and 26 th Streets in New York City.
The Child Study Center is built around a group of research Institutes with associated clinical arms, a structure that allows recruitment of patients for research studies and then provides "real-world" testing for successful controlled-environment findings. These research initiatives have advanced understanding of the causes and treatments of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders.
Over the past ten years, the research results of the Child Study Center have been disseminated through more than 400 peer-reviewed journal articles and thousands of presentations at national and international scientific meetings. Starting in 1998 with a total research portfolio of under $1 million with all research focused on ADHD, the Child Study Center currently has $40 million in research grants in seven different areas. Newly established relationships with the Nathan Kline Institute (NKI) and the Rockland Children's Psychiatric Center have greatly expanded our research capability.
In addition to the Child Study Center's research and clinical programs, its Institutes, in ongoing collaboration with community resources, have identified unmet psychological needs of children and their families and established innovative new services. Over the last few years, CSC has developed:
- Asperger Institute, established in 2006, which provides research, clinical and educational programs for adolescents with Asperger Syndrome
- HOPE (Harris Obesity Prevention Effort), established in 2007, an interdisciplinary obesity prevention effort that focuses on family and school intervention with urban, ethnic minority youth
- STEPS (Screen, Test, Evaluate to Prevent Suicide), established in 2007, a program for high school students that utilizes state-of-the-art internet-based self-help and assessment technology
The Child Study Center also offers advanced training to prepare the next generation of mental health professionals to help ensure that tomorrow's children will continue to benefit from advanced clinical care and effective treatments that are the result of scientific research. Outreach programs translate research into everyday skills for parents and educators, and into practical applications for pediatricians and mental health professionals around the country.
