Hawthorn (HCPH) is a 28-bed inpatient facility accredited by Joint Commission for accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) serving children and adolescents (ages six through 18) from St. Louis City and a 31-county region of Southeastern Missouri. Children are referred by mental health centers, juvenile courts, doctors and Division of Family Services (DFS). Youth are hospitalized who are assessed to be dangerous to themselves or others or who are adjudged to have an under-controlled severe psychiatric disturbance which so imperils their judgment or capacity to control behavior that a non-specific risk is posed. These disorders may include Bipolar, acute Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Psychotic Disorders-NOS. Most patients qualify for multiple diagnoses as developmental disorders, learning disabilities and developing personality disorders are common in this population, as are life circumstances representing extreme psychosocial stressors, frequently physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or neglect.
The inpatient program consists of separate children’s and adolescents’ units. Average length of stay for the eight bed Children’s Unit is approximately 72 days; average length of stay for the 20 bed Adolescents’ Unit is approximately 52 days. Both inpatient units function within a behavior management system and comprehensive care is afforded by multidisciplinary teams consisting of Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Nursing staff, Social Workers, Recreational and Art Therapists and Teachers as well as Interns of these various professions. SLPIC interns are assigned to the Adolescent Unit and have an option to join the Children’s unit.
Hawthorn Residential Center consists of two co-ed cottages with teenagers ages 13-18 whose length of stay is an average of 9 months. This patient population represents youth who are less acutely impacted by their mental illnesses but are unable to safely and successfully reside with their families or surrogate families. The program emphasizes the development and/or improvement of social skills, academics, vocational preparation and the pro-social use of leisure time. At times, SLPIC interns may become active in the Residential program by being the primary therapist for an individual, consulting, or conducting psychological evaluations of a resident. Opportunities to conduct family therapy with a co-leader also may be available.
Becoming part of a team is most enhanced by participation in Rounds, treatment planning and discharge meetings, and being present in the unit’s milieu. Over the course of their hospital stay, effort is made to facilitate changes in the patients’ mental health and welfare that will have a positive “ripple effect” post hospitalization. Interns learn how to be therapeutic at all times and how to provide interventions that make a “difference” despite the severity and complexity of these youth’s conditions.
SLPIC interns, respected as junior staff members, serve as primary therapists for individuals and as co-therapists for group psychotherapy and, at times, family therapy. Supervision is abundant, typically more than three hours weekly.
Hawthorn presents a unique opportunity for specialized training in child and adolescent psychology. Psychology interns learn a great deal about severe psychopathology, utility of psychotropic medications, and complex interventions for complicated situations. Hawthorn provides an excellent opportunity for becoming more skillful in differential diagnosing and psychological assessment as well as becoming more adept at adapting psychotherapeutic interventions to the particular capacities of the youth within time constraints posed by variable lengths of stay.
Faculty
MARLA LIBERMAN, Ph.D., Internship Training Coordinator for Hawthorn, Licensed Psychologist, received advanced degrees from the University of Illinois and St. Louis University, and completed a Clinical/Community Internship at UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School. Social Learning, Psychodynamic and Bowenian orientations inform her work and expertise in trauma recovery. Special interests include tacit strategic interventions, the pragmatics of using language to regulate boundaries in psychotherapy; diagnostics with consideration of phenomenal experience and treatment-directing case formulation. Optimizing the use of the Rorschach specifically and using test batteries to cross-validate hypotheses generated from individual test results is a passion actively shared with interns, typically resulting in their new or renewed enthusiasm for assessment.
SHANNON MORGAN-GILLARD, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist working at Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Residential Program and in private practice. She completed her psychology internship with the St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium and her Post-Doctoral Fellowship in forensic Rehabilitation at the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center. Dr. Morgan-Gillard is experienced in working with all ages of clients, in a variety of settings including outpatient clinics, inpatient acute care and long-term/residential psychiatric hospitals, college counseling and career centers, and forensic psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Morgan-Gillard’s areas of interest include working with clients with depression, anxiety, aggression and behavior disorders, and substance abuse disorders; conducting psychodiagnostic and psychoeducational assessments; and supervising students in therapy and assessment. Dr. Morgan-Gillard is experienced in working with clients with severe mental illness, and clients with comorbid clinical, substance abuse, and personality disorders. She has experience conducting evaluations of AD/HD and learning disability, affective, anxiety and psychotic disorders, risk for violence and aggression, and eating disorders. She has extensive experience conducting psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic groups on a wide range of topics including building character and values, managing mood disorders, minimizing the risk of aggression, mental illness relapse prevention, substance abuse relapse prevention, anger management, and stress management.
ROBERT SCHNIDMAN, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with over 35 years of psychotherapy and psychological testing experience. He received his B.A. (1973) from University of Missouri-Columbia; M.A. (1975) in Clinical from Indiana State; Ph.D. (1979) in Clinical from University of Southern Mississippi and is licensed in Missouri. As an inpatient psychologist at Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital he provides individual, group, and family therapy as well as psychological evaluations and intern supervision.
