Addressing the Pediatric Mental Health Emergency in Clinical Settings
ALL Presenters:
Moderators and Event Co-Chairs:
Theodote K. Pontikes, MD, MBA-HCM, DFAACAP, DFAPA, FACLP
Vice President/President-Elect, Illinois Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ICCAP)
ICCAP Liaison to Illinois Psychiatric Society-Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Committee
Immediate Past Chair, Illinois Psychiatric Society-Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Committee
Program Director, Psychiatry Residency Training at Loyola University Medical Center
Dr. Theodote K. Pontikes is the program director of Psychiatry residency training at Loyola University Medical Center and an Associate Professor at the Stritch School of Medicine (Loyola University Chicago) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences and the Department of Pediatrics. She completed her Psychiatry residency training and a Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship at the University of Chicago. She then completed fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital program (Harvard Medical School), as well as in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance (Harvard Medical School). She is also experienced in systems-of-care and has earned a MBA degree in Health Care Management (Loyola University Chicago).
Dr. Pontikes is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Dr. Pontikes is especially interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated care for pediatric and adult patient populations; transcultural issues and the reduction of healthcare disparities; patient advocacy; and medical education.
Thomas L. DiMatteo, M.D., Pharm.D.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist,
Medical Director of Samaracare Counseling Services in Lisle, Illinois.
Current president, Illinois Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, project lead.
Dr. DiMatteo is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and medical director of Samaracare counseling services in Lisle, Illinois. He is the current president of the Illinois Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the project lead for today’s symposium. His practice has a focus in childhood anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders and autism spectrum disorders
Expert Panelists:
Adrienne Adams, MD
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Medical Director, Rosecrance
Dr. Adams has been on faculty at Rush University since 2005 as an Assistant Professor where she has worn many hats including interim inpatient medical director, CL director, outpatient medical director, and fellowship training director 2007-2021. In August 2020 she was promoted to Associate Professor, in psychiatry and has worked in the medical college as an advisor for the class of 2022, course facilitator within the graduate college for the Interpersonal Education Section (2017-2021), and the co-director for the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Jay G. Hirsch Medical Student Fellowship, UIC- Rockford campus. She has always been an advocate for child issues and has been interviewed by WGN Radio 720, Chicago Tribune, PBS local affiliate, WGN podcasts, and a panel discussant with the honorable Speaker of the House Welch and the CBS local news. In 2021, she became the first African American female medical director for Rosecrance Griffin Williamson campus, and in 2023 became triple-boarded (General Psychiatry, CAP Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine.
Arden D. Barnett, MD, DLFAPA
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Carle Illinois College of Medicine
Core Faculty, Carle Health Psychiatry Residency
Dr. Barnett received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee. He completed a year of medical internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, then completed his Psychiatry Residency as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Chicago.
After decades of practicing in DuPage County and the Chicagoland area, he did move to Champaign where the besides practicing at Carle Health, he is teaching, as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry for the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. He teaches medical students at the College on their child psychiatry rotation, as well as being a core faculty member in the Carle Health Psychiatry residency program. He oversees the training of the residents in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, as well as lecturing on psychopathology.
For over 30 years he has been actively involved in organized Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Medicine in Illinois and nationally.
Wanda E. Cruz-Knight, MD
Family Medicine
NorthShore Medical Group
Wanda Cruz-Knight graduated from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Family Medicine at Rush University-Illinois Masonic in Chicago. Dr. Cruz-Knight is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and Certified in Lean Health. Dr. Cruz-Knight has served in numerous leadership roles, including Director of Medical Education at Case Western Reserve University, Residency Director from 2012 to 2016, and Interim Chair of Family Medicine from 2012 to 2016. She also served as Residency and Medical Director for the University of South Florida and Bay Care Health System from 2016 to 2021. In 2022, Dr. Cruz-Knight joined NorthShore as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine.
James MacKenzie, DO
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Director, Center of Pediatric Collaborative Care
Advocate Children’s Hospital
Dr James G MacKenzie is a fellowship trained Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who has spent the entirety of his career working closely with primary care physicians to create strategies for treating patients collectively. He completed his adult psychiatry residency at Loyola University Medical Center and his Child Psychiatry fellowship at Northwestern University.
After serving as President of the Illinois Psychiatric Society, he proudly helped pass State legislation making Illinois the first state in the US to require both private and public insurance to reimburse primary care physicians when collaborating with psychiatrists--a major step forward to improve access to mental health care as well as reducing cost and associated stigma.
Karen L. Pierce MD, DFAACAP, DLFAPA
Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist
Clinical Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Dr. Karen Pierce is a Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist currently in Private Practice and Clinical Associate Professor of Child Psychiatry at Northwestern University. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA). She is a passionate advocate on Children’s mental health and the practice of psychiatry. She has been active at IPS including being on council, and a member of the advocacy committee. She is a member on the government relations council of the American Psychiatric Association (CAGR), is co-chair of the Advocacy Committee of the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), Chair of Resource Group of Migrant youth- AACAP, Chair of Advocacy of Illinois Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and on the Government Affairs committee at the Illinois Psychiatric Society. She is past president of the Illinois Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, past member of the Council at AACAP.
Dr. Karen Pierce received her M.D. degree from the University of Illinois and completed her residency in adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry at the University of Michigan.
Jennifer Thomas, MD, FASAM
Family Medicine
Medical Director of Integrated Behavioral Health, Morris Hospital
Dr. Thomas is a family medicine and addiction medicine physician at Morris Hospital in Morris, IL. Dr. Thomas has led Morris Hospital's efforts to integrate the Collaborative Care Model into numerous medical practices, including family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and OB/Gyn practices. Dr. Thomas is also an Affiliate Clinical Trainer for the University of Washington AIMS Center with expertise in training PCPs in the Collaborative Care Model. Currently, Dr. Thomas is serving as a Clinical Advisor for the American Medical Association's BHI Collaborative Immersion Program, assisting 12 primary care practices from across the U.S. with implementing Integrated Behavioral Health.
Case Presenters:
Ian P. Best, MD FAAP
Pediatrician
Medical Director of Outpatient Pediatrics, Morris Hospital and Healthcare Centers
Dr. Best received his medical degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago and completed his pediatric residency at Advocate Christ Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL. He has been practicing general pediatrics in rural Illinois for almost 20 years and for the past 7 has served as the Medical Director for the Morris Hospital and Healthcare Center’s employed pediatric group. Dr. Best recently worked with Dr. Jennifer Thomas, one of our panelist, in the development and implementation of one of the first non-academically affiliated Collaborative Care programs in the state to focus exclusively on the pediatric population.
James Chambliss, MD, MPH
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow
UIC
Dr. James Chambliss graduated from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and completed residency at the Broadlawns-UnityPoint Psychiatry Residency program. He is currently undergoing Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is interested in trauma and anxiety disorders.
Dr. Sundeep Randhawa, MD
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Rush University Medical Center
Dr. Sundeep Randhawa, MD is a child & adolescent psychiatry specialist in Chicago, IL and has over 17 years of experience in the medical field. He graduated from SPARTAN HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY in 2005. He is affiliated with medical facilities Rush University Medical Center and AMITA Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center Chicago.
Gabrielle Barber, MD
Family Medicine, Lawndale Christian Health Center
Dr. Gabrielle W. Barber is a family medicine doctor in Chicago, Illinois and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including St. Anthony Hospital-Chicago and Mount Sinai Hospital-Chicago. She received her medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Mojgan Makki, MD, DFAACAP
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Psychiatry Studio
Adjunct Professor Rush University Medical Center
Dr. Makki is a double board certified psychiatrist with American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry, and the founder of Psychiatry Studio. She has over 20 years of experience working in the mental health field providing services in private, community, and university systems focusing on teaching and mental health and wellness.
Her clinical work is focused on evaluation and treatment of children and toddlers under 6 years of age, consultations for schools, second opinions for complex cases, and speaking engagements. She is licensed in states of Illinois, Missouri, and California.
Rachel R. Ballard, MD
Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Dr. Ballard is a child psychiatrist who treats children and adolescents with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other problems related to mood and behavior. She also works with pediatricians, helping them treat their own patients who have anxiety, depression and ADHD.
Jasleen Singh, MD
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Dr. Jasleen Singh is a first-year Child-Adolescent Psychiatry fellow at Northwestern University/Lurie Children’s Hospital. She attended residency at Rosalind Franklin University and medical school at Loyola University Chicago, during which she attended her first IPS conference. During her time as a resident, and now as a fellow, she has become increasingly active in IPS, participating in several committees, and serving as editor for the Mind Matters newsletter. Her experiences were furthered by her history as a certified peer health educator and prior work in medical school where she helped establish a mentorship program for undergraduates aspiring to apply to pre-health programs. She often partakes in leadership activities that align with her values of mentorship and education. She served as Chief of Medical Students in her residency program, and she will be one of the upcoming Chief Fellows for her fellowship program during the next academic year.