The Developmental Neuropsychiatry Program (DNP) is a new
clinical program operating within The Royal Children's Hospital,
Integrated Mental Health Program (RCH IMHP). This program was
developed in association with the Academic Child Psychiatry Unit
(ACPU)
and the CASEA program. Please
click on the following link for further information about the
DNP.
Role of the DNP
The DNP is the main vehicle driving the IMHP becoming a
world class modern mental health service that is based on the
mutual inter-dependence of research, teaching and clinical service
delivery through translational clinical science. The DNP (1)
manages diagnostically difficult cases and treatment non-responsive
cases and (2) is developing a modern comprehensive biopsychosocial
child mental health approach that can increase IMHP throughput,
enhance patient care and patient satisfaction. It comprises a
community arm, headed up by the senior clinical psychologist and
program manager, Jo Winther and a hospital arm, headed up by the
experienced clinical consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist,
Chidambaram Prakash. Alasdair Vance, the academic head of
child and adolescent psychiatry on campus, provides overall
clinical, research and training leadership. Currently, a
senior psychiatric trainee, an experienced clinical psychologist,
and an experienced administrative assistant form the core workforce
of the DNP.
Ongoing Development of the
DNP
This program exists to implement world's best practice
standardised assessment, formulation, treatment and rigorous
monitoring of clinical outcomes - behaviourally, cognitively and
socially for the most difficult cases - diagnostically and with
respect to psychosocial and medication treatment response. To
achieve these aims existing strong international links with the
Institute of Psychiatry (UK), NYU Child Study Center (USA),
Shanghai Mental Health Centre (PR China), Interventional
Psychopharmacology Unit (Great Ormond Street) (UK) and St Andrew's
University, Dundee (UK) have been strengthened.
Please see the links below for further information.
- how the DNP
will operate
- further
information about the CASEA program