Vision, Mission, and Values

Our Vision

All youth will thrive in mental health. Youth suffering with mental illness will recover and realize the full potential of their lives.

Our Mission

In our collective missions of clinical care, education, research, outreach, and advocacy, we work to improve the lives of youth struggling with mental illness and the well-being of their families.

The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry provides exceptional patient-focused mental health care for children, adolescents, and their families in Wisconsin. We provide unique educational and research opportunities for trainees and faculty to build the next generation of mental health researchers and clinicians devoted to improving the mental health of youth and families. We conduct multidisciplinary research spanning neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and sociology to better understand the nature of mental illness in youth and develop novel prevention and treatment strategies for affected youth. Finally, we work with families and community partners to improve access to and delivery of mental health care for youth in Wisconsin.

Our Values

Relationships. We build relationships with each patient, their family, and healthcare team to provide quality collaborative care and meet each child and family’s unique goals through a variety of treatment options.

Dedication. Our team brings compassion, expertise, and innovation to each patient’s clinical care. We strive to deliver the mental health care we would expect for our own family.

Partnership. Each and every child, adolescent, family member, guardian, and provider we work with is an integral part of our clinical care, education, and research values. We believe in a collaborative approach with input and clinical care decisions from everyone on the patient’s care team, and involvement of community supports to achieve well-being for each child, adolescent, and their family.

We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.

Fred Rogers

BLACK LIVES MATTER

“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those whom should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” -Haile Selassie

Racism is toxic, traumatic, and a public health crisis. We have been horrified at the countless Black lives lost because of racism, white supremacy, and centuries of systemic oppression. We believe every child and family has a right to health, well-being, and safety. Racism is counter to all of these, creating a toxic society and environment in which our Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color are growing up. Racism is traumatic in its attempt to dehumanize and murder others based only on the color of their skin. Racism is also deadly in more insidious ways, killing many more Black Americans through disparities in health outcomes and access to health care.

At the UW Health Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, we will continue to fight for the well-being of children and families in our community. We are committed to being the strongest Anti-Racist allies we can be for the families and communities we serve. This means taking a critical look at how and where we provide mental health care, working with community partners, and advocating for policy change at all levels to achieve justice. Our future is at stake. Let us work together to make it a brighter one. Our Black, Indigenous, and Youth of Color deserve no less.

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