Joseph Woolston, MD

Dr. Joseph Woolston is the Albert J. Solnit Professor of
Child Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine. He is
the Vice-Chair for Clinical Affairs for the Child Study
Center. In that capacity
he oversees clinical program development and quality improvement. Dr. Woolston
has focused his career on creating, implementing and improving clinical
programs designed to treat children and families who are living in significant
psychosocial adversity.
Dr. Woolston started the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient
Service at Yale New
Haven Medical
Center in 1985. This
service has been an international model for evaluation of seriously disturbed
children and their families, for the training mental health professionals, and
for research on severe childhood psychopathology and innovative service
delivery models.
In 1996, he co-founded Intensive In-home Child and
Adolescent Psychiatric Service (IICAPS), an innovative blend of home-based, system of care
service approach with a medical model. IICAPS is designed to help SED children
and their families to reduce the risk of requiring institutional based care and
to improve their development. IICAPS has now developed into a manualized,
state-wide network that provides treatment for over 2200 children and families
each year.
In 2005 Dr. Woolston became Director of the Children’s Psychiatric
Outpatient Clinic. With colleagues, he transformed the treatment model to be a
data-driven, problem solving focused approach that emphasizes ongoing family
engagement.
Beginning in 2009, Dr. Woolston has led an integration of
all Child Study Center
clinical programs, including hospital-based, home-based and clinic-based
programs, so that patients and patient information can flow as needed to
optimize patient care.