For many years, young children and families have sought treatment from the Matilda Theiss behavioral health programs at UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (now UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital). In 2012, the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry was awarded a four-year, $1.6 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address the high level of need characteristic of these families. This grant supported the establishment of evidence-based treatment options for young children and families who have experienced psychological trauma.
From this funding, the WPIC Early Childhood Trauma Treatment Center was established in 2012, becoming part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Since the initial grant (2012-2016), two more rounds of funding were awarded to the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry (2016-2021; 2021-2026), allowing for the continuous program growth that has evolved into what is now the Theiss Center for Child and Adolescent Trauma (CCAT) at the University of Pittsburgh.
The SAMHSA NCTSN grant (CCAT) supports the implementation of high-quality trauma services within the Theiss Center’s Child and Adolescent Trauma Services (CATS) outpatient programs and across other child behavioral health programs at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. This support includes costs for training, supervision and consultation, data collection and analysis, and ongoing program development.
Over the same period, the IMPACT Mobile Therapy program (Interactive Mobile Parent And Child Treatment) developed alongside CATS Outpatient Services. IMPACT Mobile Therapy provides specialized and evidence-based early childhood mental health services across Allegheny County for children and their families/caregivers, working directly in the home, at school, or in daycare, and after school at community events and extracurricular activities. This allows IMPACT to provide treatment within the child's daily environments.
Following this success establishing the Theiss Center for Child and Adolescent Trauma, and anticipating the expansion of a variety of services upon the opening of the South Side facility then under construction, Theiss again partnered with the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry to seek another SAMHSA grant in 2022. Starting officially at the end of September 2022, the University of Pittsburgh Early Attachment and Relationships Project (PEAR) was one of only four programs nationwide to receive funding through this opportunity, providing $2.5 million in support over five years.
Addressing the broader aspects of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, the PEAR Project is supporting the re-expansion of the Theiss Therapeutic Nursery and Preschool (TNP) and the growth of the Theiss Early Childhood Outpatient Program, while aiming to benefit the broader early childhood community through best-practice training, professional development and consultation services.