The Adolescent Multidisciplinary Assessment Clinic combines the experience, skills and creativity of clinicians accustomed to evaluating and caring for young people with complex health and behavioural concerns, including stress-related conditions.
As medical presentations at this formative period of life are frequently complex – with a multitude of underlying concerns and issues – the approach we take is necessarily broad-based and collaborative. Tweens and teenagers with anxiety and/or depression, for example, commonly present in medical guise, sometimes also with behavioural or learning problems, and assessments are often best approached jointly.
We have established the AMDAC primarily to elucidate the needs of symptomatically unwell and under-functioning young people (e.g., with tiredness and lethargy, headaches or vague feelings of ill-health and/or with recent disengagement from school or friends), those with difficulty regulating emotion, and with developmental and psychosocial difficulties accompanying chronic childhood illness.
The AMDAC offer the following services and interventions:
- A thorough medical review by an Adolescent Health Physician
- A consultation with a Counselling Psychologist
- A survey of the psychosocial factors (including strengths and challenges) facing the adolescent
- An analysis of the young person’s reports by teachers and health professionals
- A collaborative case conference amongst the clinicians involved
- An individualised multi-disciplinary ‘roadmap’ with recommendations encompassing medical, psychological and lifestyle elements
- Feedback, discussion, and counselling, including family support and/or individual follow-up as appropriate.
