Behavioral Health
Helping Children and Families Reach Their Full Potential
Big Lots Behavioral Health Services
At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, we know that an emotional, behavioral or developmental problem can be confusing for children and adolescents – and for those who love them. Big Lots Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital offers a wide range of services to address the needs of these patients and their families.
Where should you turn after a diagnosis of autism, Down syndrome or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? What if your child is experiencing anxiety, depression or problems with alcohol or drugs?
Our comprehensive, team approach brings together psychiatry, psychology, specialized pediatrics, counseling, parent support specialists, social work and nursing to help with every aspect of a child’s treatment.
As a national leader in childhood Behavioral Health research, we are pushing the field forward. As caregivers, we want to help with your child’s individual challenges.
If you are in an emergency, life-threatening situation, call 9-1-1 or go to an Emergency Department.
Community Resource Directory
The Community Behavioral Health Resource Directory helps connect you with local behavioral and mental health resources.
Key Programs & Services
- Psychiatry provides assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
- Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics addresses the developmental and behavioral needs of children, adolescents and their families.
- The Child Development Center (CDC) and Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD) offer interdisciplinary assessment and treatment of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and provide consultation, assessment, therapy and support services for children with autism spectrum disorders.
- Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology focuses on the relationship between a child’s cognitive, social and emotional functioning and physical health.
- Crisis Services provides integrated care in the hospital and its clinics when there is a concern about a child’s danger to self and others.
- Inpatient Services cares for children and adolescents with serious psychiatric disorders who are staying in the hospital when treatment cannot safely be provided otherwise.
- Community-Based Services provide a broad range of family-centered services in school and at home.
- Outpatient Services offers assessment and treatment of mental and behavioral health concerns through standard outpatient individual, group and family interventions. Intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs, including the Mood and Anxiety Program and Eating Disorders Program, are available for high-need youth.
- Prevention Services supports the social-emotional development of young children and teaches them skills to manage their own feelings and behavior. Suicide prevention education is also taught in a variety of venues, including Columbus City Schools. The Center for Suicide Prevention and Research also provides services across the region.
Crisis Information
If you have concerns about serious injury to your child or others, call 911.
If You Live in Franklin County:
- If you live in Franklin County and your child is in crisis and you would like to talk to a mental health provider, call the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Franklin County Youth Psychiatric Crisis Line at (614) 722-1800.
If You Live Outside of Franklin County:
- If you do not live in Franklin County but you are connected with a Nationwide Children’s Behavioral Health provider, call the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Franklin County Youth Psychiatric Crisis Line at (614) 722-1800.
- If you do not live in Franklin County and are not connected with a Nationwide Children’s Behavioral Health provider, please call your county psychiatric crisis line or current behavioral health care provider for help in determining the best response.
- If you do not know your county's crisis line and you or your child need immediate help due to having suicidal thoughts, go to your local emergency room, call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or reach the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.
Go to the Psychiatric Crisis Department when your child has an urgent behavioral or mental health concern that needs immediately addressed and your child has no medical concerns.
Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion
The Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion is America’s largest center dedicated exclusively to child and adolescent behavioral and mental health on a pediatric medical campus.
Inside Behavioral Health
Conditions We Treat
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Anxiety Disorders
- Asperger's Syndrome
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - ADHD
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Bulimia Nervosa
- Conduct Disorders
- Delirium
- Depression
- Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBD)
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Physical Abuse
- Psychosis
- Sexual Abuse
- Substance Use Disorders
- Suicidal Behaviors
Big Lots Behavioral Health Services receives funding from the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
The Kids Mental Health Foundation
We are creating a world where mental health is a vital part of every child’s upbringing—where children’s mental health is as important as their physical health, and where grown-ups have the skills to help kids face and manage life’s challenges.