"NYU Langone is one of only two academic medical centers in the nation with an independent child and adolescent psychiatry department. The earlier you treat, the greater impact can be," she says. "Identifying mental health conditions early changes treatment outcomes. Havens plans to continue to advocate for resources to make sure prevention and early intervention are essential in the care of children and adolescents mental health. "We will continue to do all we can to provide high-quality mental health care to those children in need while also continuing to advocate with our community partners for systematic change at every level to help solve the youth mental health crisis." We need to change this and emulate the advancing model of pediatric health care, where prevention is the norm," says Dr. This has only been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Mental health challenges are now responsible for the majority of morbidity and mortality in young people. Havens will also continue to oversee the acute care system at NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue-including the only 24-hour Children's Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program in New York state. Through the Pediatric Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Service and Integrated Behavioral Health Program, the department provides clinical services, consultations and program expertise across a continuum of care at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone and other NYU Langone sites, including the Child Study Center, Fink Children's Ambulatory Care Center and NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. In her role as chair, Havens will oversee a diverse team of health professionals in the department providing a wide range of mental health services for children, adolescents, young adults, and families in the New York metropolitan area. She will continue her excellent efforts as chair of the Department, in which she has advanced all of its missions." "Her tireless vision inspires others to make the world a better place for children every day. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone. Havens is passionate about gaining an ever deeper understanding of mental health issues in children and in vulnerable populations, with a goal of consistently improving care," says Robert I. Havens worked to extend trauma-informed mental health services to NYC's juvenile secure detention facilities and has been a consultant for the development of similar services at many health care systems throughout the country. She then implemented trauma-informed care across the child emergency and inpatient services at NYU Health+Hospitals/Bellevue and led the expansion of their acute child psychiatry service to become one of the country's most comprehensive integrated care system.
In 2004, she opened the first dedicated psychiatric emergency program for children in the world at New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Havens has been instrumental in the national movement to improve psychiatric emergency care for children and adolescents. Throughout her career she has been a crusader for children who are affected by child abuse, violence and trauma and a leader in the development of improved mental health services for children and families. While there, she served as deputy director of their Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Ī renowned child psychiatrist, Havens has delivered or supervised the care of thousands of children and adolescents and is deeply involved in many of the city and states mental health initiatives for children. With appointments in both the Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychiatry, she joined the faculty at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2008 from Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Havens, who has served as the interim chair of the Department since February 2021, was previously vice chair for clinical integration and mentoring.