Pediatric Psychologist

La Rabida Children’s Hospital provides specialized, family-centered health care to children with medically complex conditions, disabilities, and chronic illness. Through expertise, compassion, and advocacy we help children and their families reach their fullest potential, regardless of their ability to pay.

Our not-for-profit hospital, licensed for 49 beds, helps transition children from neonatal or pediatric intensive care to home, by providing medical, rehabilitative and developmental care, and by training families to continue treatments and manage the necessary equipment in the home. La Rabida also provides extensive rehabilitation for those recovering from wounds or burns and treatment for exacerbations of chronic conditions.

The hospital’s enhanced pediatric patient-centered medical home provides primary care to children with complex medical conditions and their siblings. Children with medical homes elsewhere come to La Rabida for specialty services. La Rabida offers a wide range of specialty services provided to children with sickle cell disease, diabetes, and many others. Children are supported in their emotional and developmental growth, particularly in cases where such growth has been interrupted by accident or disease.

Finally, La Rabida provides forensic and treatment services for children exposed to abuse and neglect, comprehensive assessments for youth in care, early intervention for children between 0 and 3 years of age. Care coordination services for medically complex children are also provided for those who are covered by a health plan and receive care from providers in Cook County

Functions in an independent and professional manner to provide high-quality, trauma informed, psychological services to inpatients, outpatients and their families.

• Conducts psychological testing (focusing on mood, behavior, emotional regulation, and psychiatric concerns) to diagnose anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, trauma, and adjustment disorders.
• Diagnoses and treats a range of psychological conditions, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and adjustment disorders.
• Develop and implement comprehensive treatment plans.
• Responsible for case management of patients so that appropriate psychological and psychosocial services are delivered within the hospital and/or via community resources. Maintains follow-up contact with the patient, and their family, and other agencies to assure that the required and recommended services are obtained.
• Provides consultation/liaison services, assessment and brief intervention to patients during their outpatient clinic visits for specific patient populations (e.g., Diabetes, Sickle Cell, Primary Care)
• Provides guidance and consultation to parents or caregivers on how to manage the child's psychological issues and needs.
• Applies knowledge and expertise of a wide variety of psychotherapeutic techniques to assist children, adolescents, and their families to cope adaptively with the impact of medical conditions. This includes the wide range of general pediatric behavioral problems such as attention disorders, learning and school problems, and social emotional problems.
• Provides consultation/liaison services and follow-up care to inpatients and their parents/caregivers.
• Consults and collaborates with multidisciplinary health care teams to ensure psychological services are integrated into patient care plan.
• Document and maintain detailed records.
• Takes active role in new program development to provide innovate care to children served by La Rabida Children's Hospital.
• Provides supervision to psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows, as needed.
• Part of crisis response team for behavioral health needs during their shift.

• May be involved in education and training programs for other students and staff members, both inside and outside of the Division of Behavioral Health.
• Conducts in-service training and educational seminars for hospital staff, parents and/or community agencies as required.

• Provides supervision to interns, externs and post-doctoral fellows (when licensed in Illinois).
• Plays an active role in the recruitment of trainees (interns, externs and post-doctoral fellows).

• Serves as a member of the Pediatric Psychology training committee.

• A minimum of 70% of work must be in direct patient/family contact.

Performs other duties as…