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UPMC opens new behavioral health center on the South Side

Julia Zenkevich
/
90.5 WESA
A classroom at UPMC Western Behavioral Health on the South Side.

UPMC Western Behavioral Health on Thursday opened a new facility on the South Side meant to increase access to services for children with emotional and behavioral health needs.

The UPMC health center in the Hill District is continuing operation, but the trauma-focused programs for children that used to be housed there have been moved to the South Side.

The new East Carson location includes programs for children with autism and developmental needs, as well as children who have experienced trauma. It’s also the new home of the Matilda Theiss Therapeutic Nursery and Preschool.

For kids who have experienced trauma, like the death of a loved one or the incarceration of a parent, the nursery and preschool provides a place for them to continue their education while addressing the trauma through therapy that’s integrated into the classroom.

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Erma Conn is program coordinator at the Matilda Theiss Child Development Center. She started with the program 35 years ago when it was a daycare in the Hill District and said programs were added over time to help kids learn both educational and behavioral skills.

“So, we’ll have an educational curriculum as well as a social emotional curriculum that we work on daily with the field, teach them their social skills,” she said, adding that some of the children also do play therapy.

President of UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital Deborah Brodine said for the children, many of whom are younger than seven, trauma disrupts their sense of security.

“So, it really is about bringing that sense of safety back, teaching them skills in terms of resilience, teaching them the right way to behave when they’re feeling angry, which are normal experiences,” Brodine said.

The goal is to transition kids back to a mainstream school. The facility also offers other “early intervention” programs for kids dealing with emotional or behavioral issues including the UPMC Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, the Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention program and the Therapeutic Early Autism program.

Brodine estimates the new facility will allow them to serve an additional 220 patients.

The building includes an additional location for the New and Expectant Mothers Specialized Treatment Program, which is done in collaboration with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. The program helps people who are pregnant or postpartum and struggling with depression and anxiety about parenthood.

Julia Zenkevich reports on Allegheny County government for 90.5 WESA. She first joined the station as a production assistant on The Confluence, and more recently served as a fill-in producer for The Confluence and Morning Edition. She’s a life-long Pittsburgher, and attended the University of Pittsburgh. She can be reached at jzenkevich@wesa.fm.