Pediatric SIG Webpage

About the SIG

The Pediatric Consultation-Liaison (“Peds C-L”) SIG began in 2005 as the Child and Adolescent Psychosomatic Medicine Subcommittee of the Academy’s Education Committee. The subcommittee, co-chaired by Drs. Maryland Pao and Susan Turkel, was tasked with networking/mentoring and expanding the child psychiatry consultation-liaison (C-L) membership, and with promoting training and education in pediatric C-L at the annual meetings of the Academy and other national organizations.

Due to changes in the Academy’s governance structure in 2009 the Subcommittee was reformulated to the Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG was charged with meeting the educational needs of Academy members around pediatric issues. When the Academy name changed to ACLP in 2018 the SIG name changed to the Pediatric Consultation-Liaison SIG.

From inception the subcommittee/SIG member participation in ACLP annual meetings has been robust, in the form of posters, workshops, preconference courses and invited lectures. The pediatric SIG works to ensure a pediatric lens is added to C-L topics presented by members throughout the academy.

Resources

Pediatric C-L Psychiatry has grown considerably, including via publication of a textbook as outlined:

- 2006 publication of the Clinical Manual of Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine by Richard Shaw, MBBS (an Academy member) and David DeMaso, MD.,

- 2010 Textbook of Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine by Richard Shaw, MBBS and David DeMaso, MD, with several contributors from the Academy.

- 2020 Clinical Manual of Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry by Richard Shaw, MBBS and David DeMaso, MD, with several contributors from the Academy.

- Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry by Anthony Guerrero, Paul Lee and Norbert Skokauskas (link here).

Additional educational resources around pediatric C-L include a bibliography and a training template are available online and in print:

- Pao M, Ballard ED, Raza H, Rosenstein D: Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography. Psychosomatics 2007; 48(3):195-204

- Becker JE, Smith JR, Hazen EP. Pediatric Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry: An Update and Review. Psychosomatics. 2020 Sep-Oct;61(5):467-480. doi: 10.1016/j.psym.2020.04.015. Epub 2020 Apr 25. PMID: 32482345; PMCID: PMC7194908.

- Walker A, Pao M, Nguyen N: Pediatric Psychosomatic Medicine: Creating a Template for Training. Psychosomatics 2012; 53(6):532-540

Pao M, Mooneyham GC, Raza H. Pediatric Consultation-Liaison (C-L) Psychiatry Training Pathways. J Acad Consult Liaison Psychiatry. 2024 Jan-Feb;65(1):106-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jaclp.2023.11.271. Epub 2023 Nov 22. PMID: 37995942; PMCID: PMC10922888.

Goals of the Peds C-L SIG

1. Network and support child psychiatrists who practice consultation-liaison psychiatry and encourage their membership in ACLP.

2. Partner with child C-L psychiatrists who are active in professional organizations with similar objectives, particularly the Physically Ill Child Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).

3. Continue to provide pediatric C-L submissions to the ACLP annual meeting program.

4. Collaborate with other ACLP SIGs in contributions to the annual meeting program and other educational resources.

5. Develop a pediatric C-L research network.

6. Identify and assist ACLP as requested to consider recipients for the ACLP pediatric C-L Maryland Pao award.

7. Advance the training objectives of child psychiatry fellows and C-L fellows in child psychiatry-specific consultation liaison topics

8. Improving clinical pathways to improve the care of specific patient populations, including delirium, FNSD, SSRD, catatonia, eating disorders

How to Join:

All new SIG members must be ACLP Members.

For a pediatric C-L psychiatrist or other mental health clinician, the Academy is a valuable resource for those who manage children and adolescents with complex medical illnesses. ACLP annual meetings are a great place to learn the latest clinical information and research, to network with other child psychiatrists who face the same clinical and administrative challenges, and to gain inspiration. Membership in ACLP includes a subscription to the Academy’s journal, Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. See Membership Advantages for more benefits and Join ACLP for application information.

To join the SIG update your ACLP membership profile as follows:

Under “Your Special Interest Group Subscriptions” toward the bottom of your profile page, check the “Pediatric Consultation-Liaison” box. Allow 24 hours for your membership to take effect.

Legacy list-serve members are also encouraged to join ACLP. They can remain on the list-serve at this time without being members.