Young Adult and Family Center

Our Services

The Young Adult and Family Center offers comprehensive assessments as well as ongoing individual, group and family treatment for adolescents, young adults and their families. Current services include:

• Adolescent Assessment ClinicThis clinic provides comprehensive assessments of adolescents and young adults. The staff includes two psychiatrists, a pediatrician, an educational psychologist and family therapists.
• Bridge ClinicThe Bridge Clinic serves patients who were recently discharged from the hospital and need outpatient treatment, or who are in treatment but require more intensive services. The Bridge Clinic also provides interim care to patients awaiting access to one of the other programs at the Young Adult and Family Center.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ProgramWe offer a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group for adolescents who may be experiencing symptoms of sadness, irritability, worry, stress or anxiety. The program consists of eight sessions that provide a foundation for learning and practicing CBT skills in a supportive group environment. Adolescents will be evaluated for baseline depression and anxiety symptoms when they enter the group, as well as periodically during and at the end of their treatment to assess progress.
• Liaison With PediatricsThe Young Adult and Family Center is embedded in UCSF's primary care clinics for adolescents and young adults. Integrating psychiatry with primary care improves outreach and reduces the stigma of mental illness.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy for AdolescentsThis program is targeted at high-risk adolescents with multiple problems. We specialize in identifying and treating depression and risky behaviors in adolescents, such as self-injury, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, substance use, bingeing and purging, risky sexual behavior and physical fighting.
• Eating Disorders ProgramThis comprehensive, evidence-based program provides outstanding care for individuals with eating disorders and their families. Our program is a collaboration with the UCSF Department of Pediatrics' adolescent medicine division, allowing us to address the full spectrum of eating disorders and their medical and psychological consequences.
• Intensive Family TherapyThe Intensive Family Therapy (IFT) Program is designed to serve children, adolescents, young adults and their families who are experiencing challenges that interfere with school or work performance, life at home, health and safety, or the ability to function within their community. The goals are to help families feel more connected and cohesive and to help them learn to balance multiple or overwhelming stressors. IFT is a focused approach designed to reduce target symptoms, improve family communication and repair injured relationships. IFT is founded in the power of the family to heal itself and the need to involve the entire family unit in the treatment process.

We are part of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences.