Psychiatry Inpatient Service

Your child's hospitalization

No parent wants to see their child in the hospital. Our staff on Bader 5, at Children's Hospital Boston, are devoted to getting your child home as quickly as possible.

Treatment plan

Your child's treatment team will work with you and your child to develop a treatment plan designed to address the issues and symptoms that brought your child to the hospital. The treatment plan will likely include:

• individual therapy
• group therapy
• family therapy
• medication evaluation (if necessary)

There may be other components of your child's treatment, depending on the reason for admission, including consultation with a dietician or with other medical specialists. In addition, the team will assess your child's need for follow-up in outpatient care after they are discharged and work to connect you and your child with these services before discharge.

Longterm outlook

Before your child can go home, they must show a decrease in the symptoms that brought them to the hospital and an improved ability to cope with their illness. Both you and your child must have a clear plan about how to manage at home, how to address safety issues and what to do if your child's symptoms return.

Please remember that your child's stay on Bader 5 is meant to help stabilize them while in crisis and to give you and your child some skills to cope if their symptoms get worse in the future. While a stay on Bader 5 may be a critical part of your child's treatment, it is just one piece of an ongoing process.