Specialties & ConditionsTown & Country Pediatrics Behavioral Health
Behavioral Health at Town & Country Pediatrics
Lurie Children’s Primary Care – Town & Country Pediatrics is proud to offer behavioral health guidance, consultation, and medication treatment to address certain common emotional and behavioral problems in children.
The common behavioral health concerns that we treat with medication at Town & Country Pediatrics include attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) and anxiety disorder, especially in children and younger teens.
Following an initial brief discussion, your child’s pediatrician or APRN will determine whether medication treatment is appropriate for your child and whether the treatment can be delivered in our primary care setting.
Some children will benefit from more specialized treatment than we can provide. In that case, we provide referrals to Lurie Children’s Psychiatry and to community practices throughout Chicagoland.
Most often, children receiving medication also benefit from a behavioral treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or parent management training (PMT). Parents interested exclusively in behavioral treatments are referred to practitioners in the community, as at this time we do not provide psychotherapy or other behavioral treatments at Town & Country Pediatrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Behavioral health services are offered only to current patients of LCPC-TCP. Schedule a brief appointment with your child’s primary care provider to discuss your concerns and next steps.
We do not provide psychotherapy at this time. We guide parents toward evidence-based psychotherapy for the child’s particular problem, coach them on how to be good consumers of psychotherapy, and provide referrals to community therapists and agencies.
Yes. We evaluate children for the possible presence of ADHD or Anxiety Disorder. These are two common behavioral health concerns for which medication has been shown to be safe and effective, and appropriate for treatment within a primary care setting. Children receiving medication for these conditions at LCPC-TCP are also helped to find behavioral treatment in the community.
Yes, your child may receive medication here or be referred elsewhere, depending on the complexity of the problem.
Not all behavioral health conditions can be treated in a primary care setting. For more specialized services, we provide referrals to behavioral health professionals at Lurie Children’s or other community practices.
Conditions NOT treated at LCPC-TCP include the following (this is not an exhaustive list):
- History of psychiatric hospitalization within the last 3 years
- History of partial hospital program enrollment within the last year
- Chronic, passive or active suicidal thoughts or behavior
- Self-harm behaviors or other high-risk behaviors
- Significant substance abuse or addiction
- Major depression or bipolar disorder in an adolescent
- Eating disorders
- Severe behavioral dysregulation, especially in autism
- Tourette Disorder or OCD
- Psychotic symptoms
- Active forensic issue, such as a pending court case
- Gender and other sexuality concerns as the primary issue
- PTSD or developmental trauma as the primary issue
- Specific cognitive or learning problems that require psychological testing
- Parents who cannot work together due to a high conflict dispute
Insurance Plans Accepted for Behavioral Health Services at LCPC-TCP
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Cigna
- Magellan
- United Health Care/United Behavioral Health Care/Option
- Aetna (therapy services must go through Magellan in order to receive in-network benefits)
Appointments
Contact your pediatrician through MyChart or call 312.227.2800 to make a brief telemedicine or in-person appointment to discuss your concerns.
Lurie Children’s Resources
Other Resources
Teacher Questionnaires
*Please use the child’s legal name when completing these forms.
- Vanderbilt Assessment Scale, Teacher Informant - for the initial assessment of attention problems.
- Vanderbilt Assessment Follow-up, Teacher Informant - to help measure improvement, after treatment has begun.
Teacher input is crucial for both the accurate assessment and ongoing management of attention problems in children. Your student's parent will specify which of these two questionnaires we ask you to complete.
Please click on the link and complete every question if possible. Your answers will be automatically sent to your student's pediatrician at Town & Country Pediatrics.
Thank you for your important observations!