Child

Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry is pleased to announce that we will begin providing conservative and thoughtful psychiatric services for children ages 5 and up. We will immediately begin scheduling patients for psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and therapy services. Please call our main clinic number with any questions and/or appointment scheduling.

A study published by JAMA Pediatrics in April 2019 reported that suicide and suicidal ideation increased in children from 580,000 in 2007 to 1.12 million in 2015. This statistic is as saddening as it is alarming. It was also reported that 43% of these children were between the ages of 5 and 11. Children are feeling more pressure to achieve in academics and athletics which can lead to increased feelings of depression and anxiety.

In this modern age, parents and caregivers also maintain a higher level of stress; stress that often trickles down to their children. The rise of social media and increasing rates of cyberbullying have also been major contributors to depression and anxiety in our children.  According to the CDC about 15% of US high school students report being bullied online within the last year, but other surveys indicate this number could be as high as 59%. We have seen the dramatic toll this takes on both child and parent alike. It is heartbreaking. It is unforgivable and we will work with your child’s school to ensure that appropriate interventions are taken to protect your child.

According to data from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the grand majority of the United States faces a severe shortage of psychiatrists treating children and adolescents, with fewer than 17 providers per 100,000 children. This number is far, far lower in Arkansas. This means families face long wait times to see providers, which can lead to the worsening of a child’s mental health condition. It is not at all uncommon that we hear that the wait time at some clinics is several years in duration. Imagine the amount of crises and potential adverse outcomes that could come about between the time a 12 year old child’s parents request an appointment with a psychiatrist and the time they are seen in clinic for the first time as a 15 year old. It is unfathomable. It is our community at the boiling point.

It is precisely this crisis that the children of our state are facing that led Pinnacle Premier Psychiatry to create a children’s clinic. We will begin scheduling patients as young as 5 years old to care for their emotional, mental, and behavioral needs. We are pleased to offer psychiatric evaluations, medication management, as well as therapy services for this fragile, high-risk population. We are here to help.