Behavioral Health Services at Franciscan Children’s

Making sure that individuals have access to mental healthcare can improve lives and communities. Having access to mental health resources has been shown to reduce or eliminate the risk of suicide, legal issues, family conflict, employment issues, substance use and further mental and physical health problems.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Together for Mental Health, check out our incredible Behavioral Health Services program at Franciscan Children’s:

Behavioral Health Services (BHS) 

Written by Assistant Director of Behavioral Health Services, Dr. Kelly Karl

Behavioral Health Services (BHS), is a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative department comprised of psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, licensed mental health counselors and expressive therapists.

Within the BHS Department, outpatient therapy services are provided to a diverse group of young individuals with a range of presenting challenges. Typical patients within BHS have multiple concerns and complicating factors, including possible psychiatric, behavioral, social, and/or medical components. Our clinicians treat children as young as two years old up to college-aged; however, we continue to see patients with developmental disabilities into early adulthood. All patient treatment involves a family component and theory-driven interventions based on proven treatment plans with consideration of clinician training and family need. Both in-person and telehealth options are available, dependent upon insurance and clinical need.

As a component of our general outpatient services, we also provide triage services. The triage process is designed to screen new referrals coming into the department with the goal of identifying presenting problems, ensuring goodness of fit with clinician assignments and assessing mental status and safety to be sure high-risk patients do not remain without services​.

BHS also houses clinicians who provide comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessments to children, adolescents and young adults struggling with a vast array of clinical presentations.​ Individuals are typically referred for evaluation to help inform therapeutic interventions and educational programming. Patients often present with complex developmental, behavioral, emotional, cognitive and social histories with associated comorbid diagnoses. Our team of neuropsychologists utilize a wide array of assessment instruments to evaluate neurological strengths and weaknesses and develop a synthesized clinical formulation and diagnostic clarification.

As part of our assessment services, we also offer the Coordinated Autism Service Line (CASL). This is a specialized program within BHS designed to evaluate, diagnose and make recommendations for children exhibiting symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with an emphasis on early detection, assessment and diagnosis.

The patients and families served at Franciscan Children’s represent a culturally and linguistically diverse population, who present with a broad range of medical and behavioral health diagnoses. Approximately one-third of all outpatient therapy is conducted utilizing interpretive services. BHS staff consult and collaborate with various programs across Franciscan Children’s, making it a truly unique department that provides a wide breadth of services.

In addition to therapy and assessment services, BHS also houses the Children’s Wellness Initiative (CWI), Adaptive Sports, Child Life and Spiritual Care.

CWI is our school-based counseling program where we offer therapy and psychiatry services in eleven Boston public schools. We have approximately twenty social workers throughout the schools who provide various mental health services. Click here to learn more.

Our Adaptive Sports program provides the opportunity for all children to take part in a wide range of programs and sports. Adaptive sports are competitive or recreational sports that have modifications for people with disabilities. These modifications may involve special equipment or rule changes that allow individuals of all abilities to become active and play. Adaptive sports and being active have been shown to have a positive impact on one’s mental health by improving symptoms of depression, moderating stress and lowering anxiety. Research has also found that playing team sports has a greater impact on mental health than playing individual sports.

The Child Life Specialists at FC foster our patients’ emotional, social and cognitive growth during their stay through developmental play, interventions, and procedural support. Most of their time is spent with children and adolescents in our Inpatient Medical and Mental Health Units, Pediatric Rehabilitation program and Outpatient Surgical Services program. The Child Life team also educates patients and families about useful coping mechanisms and help patients with transitioning into the hospital setting.

Lastly, the Spiritual Care Department consists of chaplains, whose role is to attend to the emotional and spiritual needs of patients, families, and the entire FC community. As members of the interdisciplinary care team, they work collaboratively with fellow departments in assessing needs, planning and implementing interventions. Their work is about fostering connections: connections within oneself, connections to individuals, and connections to the spiritual. By fostering these connections, they have a niche that no other provider can fill. Chaplains work with patients both individually and in groups. In group sessions, they often talk directly about gratitude, forgiveness, loss, feelings of unworthiness and grief, and do their best to get patients involved in their treatment plans. With some patients, they help them explore what gives them a sense of meaning and purpose. As interfaith chaplains, they value the uniqueness of each person’s path and provide compassionate support to everyone.

As you can see, the BHS staff provides a wide array of services throughout the hospital and within the community. Our staff is some of the most compassionate, dedicated and amazing people around, and we are extremely grateful to have them at FC.