Please refer to the ACPU home page (About Us) for current information about the ACPU. 

The content on this page is historical information and will be reviewed and updated further in due course.  Please note that the ACPU is no longer accepting new referrals. 

The Academic Child Psychiatry Unit (ACPU) was able to provide a comprehensive assessment of the following difficulties in children and adolescents:

• oppositional defiant problems
• conduct problems
• attentional difficulties
• motor drivenness
• impulsiveness
• anxiety difficulties
• depressive difficulties
• autistic spectrum disorder problems
• early-onset psychotic symptoms

The ACPU was a useful resource for young people where there had been a diagnostic clarification issue or who had been through one or more psychological and/or medical treatment regimens and who remained treatment non-responsive.  The ACPU was a statewide service for children and adolescents.

There was a thorough clinical assessment of symptoms from child, parent and teacher perspectives, cognitive ability, educational ability, biological and psychological strengths and weaknesses, parental symptoms associated with managing their child and family functioning.  Some parts of the assessment involved both the parent and the child and other parts required only the child to be present (eg. parent and child interviews were conducted separately in order to obtain a separate account of symptoms). 

At the conclusion of an assessment, a feedback session was arranged.  In the feedback session, the results of the assessment were discussed. In addition, advice about particular medication and/or psychological treatment and the monitoring of these treatments may have been discussed.   The assessment findings/results and recommendations were then summarized in a brief written report which was provided to the legal guardian/carer as well as the referring doctor and/or case manager/clinician. This report included key strengths and weaknesses and an ongoing priority treatment plan may have been offered.  If a more detailed clinical report was required by the legal guardian/carer this could be requested by contacting our office.   To help determine what further information would be most helpful, an appointment was arranged (either a face-to-face meeting or a phone discussion).  

Following an assessment and feedback session, young people were able to be reviewed as needed using a primary or secondary consultation model to aid the young person’s local primary health care team in maximising their development.  

The ACPU does not provide crisis intervention.  Crisis intervention can be provided by services such as your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) or local hospital emergency department.  Please also contact your child’s primary health care team (including General Practitioner or Paediatrician, etc).