The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program for Children and Adolescents at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC has been awarded the 2008 Treatment of Mental Illness and Recovery Support Services Award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This prestigious national award recognizes exemplary interventions that have been shown to prevent and/or treat mental illnesses and substance abuse.

"Our intensive outpatient program has many benefits for children living with OCD, such as providing more intense and frequent treatment than they would receive through traditional outpatient programs, while being less restrictive than inpatient programs.," said Andrew R. Gilbert, M.D., medical director of the OCD treatment program at WPIC. "We are so pleased to be recognized as one of the top mental health treatment centers in the country."

WPIC launched the Intensive Outpatient Program for kids with OCD in 2005, one of only a few intensive OCD outpatient programs in the country. Prior to the opening of this clinic there were no existing treatment centers in Western Pennsylvania for children and teens with OCD. The clinic is a comprehensive treatment facility, specializing in providing group and individual psychotherapy, education, family therapy, school-liaison services and pharmacotherapy for children, adolescents and families who are struggling with OCD.

"We have analyzed the treatment effects of over 70 patients since the intensive outpatient program started in fall 2005," said Dr. Gilbert. "Our results show a 65 percent reduction in overall OCD symptom severity from intake to discharge, which suggests that these evidence-based treatments lead to important symptom improvement in children and teens."

"We offer a number of additional benefits, including the opportunity to provide group-exposure treatment in a nurturing environment. The children and adolescents in our program frequently act as a support system for one another, which appears to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment," added Dr. Gilbert.

An essential component of the OCD clinic is its innovative approach to treatment and research. WPIC has developed an integrative and translational program that combines evidence-based treatments for children and families with careful symptom assessment and monitoring, and research aimed at understanding the biological causes of OCD.

For more information about the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program for Children and Adolescents at WPIC, please call (412) 488-4186.

About WPIC

Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) is considered to be one of the nation's foremost university-based psychiatric care facilities and one of the world's leading centers for research and treatment of mental health disorders. WPIC houses the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is the flagship of UPMC Behavioral Health, the psychiatric specialty division of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

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