The Mood & Anxiety Clinic (MAC) provides comprehensive assessment, treatment planning, and intervention for children with mood, anxiety, and other related emotional conditions that may require clinical attention.
Manifestations of a mood condition may include low mood, irritability, poor appetite, prolonged grief, self-harm, and suicidal plans/acts.
Manifestations of an anxiety condition may include school refusal, insomnia, panic attacks, worry and ruminations, obsessive compulsive behaviour, or selective mutism.
In addition to mood and anxiety related concerns, MAC also accepts referrals for other conditions, including adjustment disorders, , non-forensic trauma, emotion regulation problems, and gender-related concerns.
MAC is made up of a multidisciplinary team including psychiatrists, psychologists, and medical social workers. After an initial assessment by the child psychiatrist to better understand the nature of the condition and contributing factors, a child presenting with mood and anxiety related concerns may be referred to an allied health professional for individual, group, or family therapy. Based on the needs of the child, the therapist may adopt a treatment approach chosen from a range of modalities such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, dialectical-behavioural therapy, child-centred play therapy, solution-focused therapy, or medication.
