Welcome from the Division

From our Division Head

It is with great pleasure that I introduce this website which reflects a major thrust forward, an exciting era in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry-and related disciplines-at Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). In many ways we are tantamount to an entirely new program. With the recruitment of faculty from other major institutions, the establishment of new clinical programs, the embarkation on major research, the inclusion of new seminars, conferences, training and Grand Rounds, and recently, the merger between Rady Children's Hospital of San Diego and UCSD, we are proud of what we have accomplished in a relatively short time.

We offer a comprehensive range of ambulatory, consultation‑liaison, inpatient and school‑based programs, and we are the largest designated Children's Hospital in the State of California. We work extremely closely with numerous other hospital and community programs: The Chadwick Center (child abuse); Developmental Evaluation Center and Autism Intervention Center (autism and PDD); Pediatric Neurology; Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics; Family Health Centers of San Diego; Vista Hill Foundation; and Juvenile Hall . Our important Latino services program won the Mental Health Program of the Year Award from San Diego County in 2001. The Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry also runs a major inpatient hospital for children and adolescents, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Services (CAPS). Comprehensive and cutting edge clinical services, teaching and research are pursued in all of our locations.

Children's Hospital is the venue for the only children's mental health services research center in the country: The Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC), sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Our faculty have been beneficiaries of RO1 and K Awards (Career Scientist Development) from the NIMH, and numerous other grants, and contributions to the professional and academic literature.

Our full-time faculty has grown significantly over the past few years, all of who are actively committed to teaching, research, and clinical services. We are also indebted to many experienced and esteemed community clinicians in a number of related fields who participate actively in our training programs.

There is an atmosphere of generativity and enthusiasm in our program. We welcome our new Fellows, as well as trainees in all related disciplines, to join us in our endeavors to ensure that this exceptional academic and clinical program continues its major national status and reputation.

Benjamin Maxwell, M.D.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Interim Division Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry and Rady Children's Hospital