New Minor to Help Prepare the Next Generation in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

NYU Child Study Center Offers Only Undergraduate Minor of its Kind in U.S.

Undergraduates who want to learn more about the psychological needs of children and teens can now enroll in a unique program offered by the NYU Child Study Center (CSC) on NYU’s Washington Square campus. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies (CAMS) curriculum is the first and only college minor in child and adolescent mental health in the United States.
    First offered in 2006, the CAMS program has seen more than 250 undergraduates enroll in its courses, which will number 11 in the 2008-09 academic year. Over 40 students have signed on to have CAMS as their minor area of academic focus. The program aims to enlighten and educate students about child and adolescent mental health, with the ultimate goal of diminishing the stigma surrounding the issues and creating a better-informed public and better-educated future parents. The program also addresses a critical shortage of mental health professionals who work with children and adolescents.  
    “Nationally, there is very little emphasis on the mental health problems of children and teens at undergraduate colleges and universities,” said Jess P. Shatkin, director of education and training at the NYU Child Study Center and director of undergraduate studies for the CAMS minor. “We are thrilled to provide this important area of study for undergraduate students to build the knowledge and the skills that they need to become future leaders in this field.”
    Fifteen million children and adolescents suffer from psychiatric and learning disorders in the United States. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Health Professions has identified child and adolescent psychiatry as the most underserved of all medical subspecialties. The current workforce consists of approximately 6,300 child and adolescents psychiatrists, where the need is estimated at over 30,000.