The Department for Children And Adolescents (Esperidon str. 85 & Menelaou str., Kallithea) of the Institute of Mental Health for Children & Adults (I.M.H.C.A.) provides therapy programs relating to the following areas:
- Psychological - psychiatric difficulties
- Emotional disorders
- Speech, language, voice and dysphagia/swallowing problems
- Learning disabilities – dyslexia
- PervasiveDevelopmentalDisorders (Autism - aspergeretc.)
- Mentalretardationwithenvironmentaladaptationandsocializationdifficulties
- Psychomotor difficulties, mild neurological disorders
- Counsellingforparents / custodiansminorsand / theirrelatives
The Department for Children and Adolescents of the Institute aims to address the child’s and adolescent’s disorders, by exploring their cause, beyond the symptoms. It offers services for the early diagnosis of problems and difficulties of children and their families, therapy and treatment for the difficulties, parental counseling, individual and group psychotherapy. The interdisciplinary team of the Department for Children and Adolescents consists of child psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, speech therapists, special educators, social workers, drama therapists and occupational therapists.
The work oftheDepartment for Children and Adolescentsis based on the principles and methodology of social psychiatry, with a psychoanalytic approach. The department’s interdisciplinary team operates on the basis of individualized understanding and treatment of the mental needs of each child or adolescent asking for its support. The best possible approach of the psychological issue that concerns the individual and his/her environment is determined and the appropriate treatment plan and interventions are proposed.
The complex problems that prevent or inhibit the normal course of development of children and adolescents, require methodic and multifaceted investigation and treatment.An experienced and well trained therapeutic team utilizes knowledge from different disciplines, so that the therapeutic intervention has the best possible outcome for the child, the adolescent and his/her family.In this effort, the multidisciplinary team or the staff individually, have the opportunity of a detailed analysis and examination of each case, in supervisory meetings with distinguished experts in the field.
The prevention and treatment of mental health problems of underaged children and adolescents, apart from the education and the professional ethics of mental health professionals, requires the methodic cooperation between institutions and organizations (the Ministries of Health and Education, teachers of every level, the relevant departments of local government, etc.). The Institute’s Department for Children and Adolescents develops the cooperation and interconnection between the above bodies, despite the adversities of the social reality of Greece, promoting interdisciplinary understandings and partnerships, where possible and appropriate.