Welcome to the Project TEACH FAQ section. Below are the most frequently asked questions and answers. Our goal is to be a strong resource for pediatric, family practice, ob/gyn and psychiatric clinicians in all aspects of mild-to-moderate mental health concerns for children, adolescents, and perinatal patients. If you do not see your question here, please contact us.
Project TEACH services are delivered by a team of providers located across New York State. Please see our Hub Site Map to learn where our teams are located.
You can request Project TEACH services online here. You can also request services by calling 855-277-7272. This warm line is answered Monday – Friday between 9 am – 5 pm.
All clinicians in New York State who provide care to children, adolescents and perinatal patients are eligible to receive Project TEACH services. This includes pediatricians, family physicians, ob/gyn’s, midwives, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and other prescribers.
Project TEACH is available at no cost to all New York State clinicians who treat children, adolescents, and perinatal patients. This program is currently funded through the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH).
Any New York State PCC may call for a consultation with a Project TEACH child/adolescent or perinatal psychiatrist, regardless of the type of insurance that the patient has.
Prescribers can ask questions about any case involving children and adolescents up to age 21 or perinatal patients who are in the preconception planning phase to 3 years postpartum. Questions can be specific to a particular patient; diagnosis and treatment for a specific mental health disorder; use of a particular medication or other treatment strategy; or general questions about topics in psychiatry and/or behavioral health. Project TEACH Liaison Coordinators (LCs) can assist in identifying appropriate specialty referral resources and linkages for patients and families. Project TEACH does not provide crisis services or evaluations for emergencies but can refer severe or urgent cases to appropriate emergency services.
If a Project TEACH psychiatrist is not available when you call, you will receive a call back within 30 minutes or scheduled at a time that is convenient for the clinician. Project TEACH phone lines are staffed Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.
This information will be helpful to have when you call. However, please call even if you do not have this information on hand.
- Patient’s date of birth, gender, school grade/year, insurance
- Support services in place, if any
- Primary concern or question
- Current treatment (including medications)
- Significant past medical history
No. Project TEACH currently only supports clinicians. Parents or patients with mental health concerns should talk to their primary care providers and encourage them to contact Project TEACH for a consultation.
The following scenarios may result from a telephone consultation through Project TEACH.
- You may ask a question or present a case, and a Project TEACH psychiatrist will answer your questions.
- You may request a linkage/referral to accessible community resources by talking to a Project TEACH liaison coordinator.
- You may receive a referral from a Project TEACH psychiatrist for urgent care to an appropriate emergency and/or other community service.
- Child and Adolescent Cases: It may be determined that a psychiatric evaluation is necessary for additional information to keep a child in your practice. These comprehensive evaluations are available by telepsychiatry or in-person at some sites.
Our goal is to provide clinicians will all the support you need to address the mild-to-moderate mental health concerns of patients within your practice.
Yes! A primary function of Project TEACH is to help find appropriate and accessible community mental health referrals and linkages for patients and families. This resource is available to primary care clinicians across the state. You, or someone from your clinic that is familiar with the case, can request referral support from Project TEACH. Our liaison coordinators will help find support programs within the patient’s community. For more information about our referral services, click here. Child and adolescent psychiatrists can also provide appropriate evaluation support when there are long wait times for community referrals.
A written summary is not provided following telephone consultations. However, Project TEACH child and adolescent psychiatrists provide a written summary within 48 hours following a face-to-face evaluation.
Project TEACH offers education in a variety of formats from CME accredited1 hour webinars to 6-15 hour intensive trainings. Our events are offered live (virtually or in-person) and recorded sessions are accessible through our Learning Management System (LMS). All trainings are free to New York State clinicians. See a list of educational opportunities here.
If you have clinical questions, please call the Project TEACH Clinical Line at: 855-277-7272. If you have a general question about our services, please call our general information line at: 716-878-2454.
The Project TEACH Maternal Mental Health Initiative supports all maternal health clinicians in providing care to pregnant and postpartum patients. Our team of reproductive psychiatrists provide training events and consultation services. Our liaison coordinators can help you connect patients to supportive outpatient services.
Call the Project TEACH Clinical line: 855-227-7272 between 9 am – 5 pm, Monday-Friday. A liaison coordinator will start the intake, then a reproductive psychiatrist will call you back within 30 minutes or at a time that is convenient for you. Anyone in your office who is familiar with the case can start the intake. However, the consultation with the reproductive psychiatrist must be with the prescriber.