Meet Our Clinical Director and Psychiatrist
| John Kersting, M.D., Psychiatrist |
John has been with Chamberlain since 2006. He is one of two psychiatrists. "Studies I've read show that American students receive on average six times the medicines that British students do. And it's not because we're smarter than the British. There is a pervasive sense in America that only medicine can change behavior. Of course, many children indeed have significant psychiatric or medical problems that require medicines. But here, with all of this clinical and behavioral support, and with children always supervised by supportive adults, we can try to discontinue or change the medication of children who have come to us seeming overly medicated." "The clinical staff, teachers, and boarding staff at Chamberlain operate as a team. For example, we all meet every afternoon at 3:00. We share information on every single student in school so that all of the important Chamberlain people in a child's life are current on what's happening with that child clinically, academically, and socially. I usually see a student along with his or her therapist so I can get a full picture of what that child's daily pressures and ambitions are." "I remember my first team meeting here. I was struck by the respect I saw for the students. There was no eye-rolling, for example, which is something that beleaguered teachers and clinicians often do. There was only respect and concern. That's part of what I admire about Chamberlain. At those team meetings, people sometimes get into heated arguments, but it's all resulting from impassioned concern for the students. I like to see that. And I like it that we resolve our conflicts with solutions that are workable. After all, that's what we try to teach the students to do." |