Behavioral Healthcare that’s Best for Kids

Dr. Charlotte Andersen Puts Patients First

WRITER: DAWN HOFFNER | PHOTOGRAPHY: ANN ARBOR MILLER

Know any doctors who make house calls? Years ago, house calls by doctors were common, but healthcare delivery models changed. When it comes to providing psychiatry services, Dr. Charlotte Andersen has worked in a wide variety of settings including inpatient and outpatient. Yet these days, her work sometimes even takes her to school.

Andersen practices psychiatry at Prairie St. John’s in Fargo, where she leads a treatment team serving children and adolescents in a partial hospitalization program.

She has over twenty years of experience working with children, adolescents, adults and families. And whether in her own private practice or working for a comprehensive behavioral healthcare system like Prairie St. John’s, Andersen has a passion for helping not only her patients and their families but also collaborating with others who serve youth. That passion led to her staffing work with area schools.

When asked if she will speak to parents, school staff or other professionals, her consistent response is “Sure….let me know when and where”. If you thank her for making time in her busy schedule, she is sure to say “I want to do this because it is in the kid’s best interest, and also, it really comes down to the fact that I love my job.”

A graduate of the University of Missouri – Kansas City with both a medical degree and a bachelor’s degree in biology, Andersen subsequently completed a residency at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She holds licensures from the ND Board of Medical Examiners and the Missouri Board of Healing Arts.

Some of her special clinical interests include Chronic Mental Illness, Depressive Disorders, ADHD and Anxiety Disorders.

But, it is not just about responding to a specific mental health or substance abuse concern. Andersen believes in treating the “whole person” using medication, education and therapy as needed, to help patients control their symptoms and improve their lives.

The Child and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) at Prairie St. John’s is designed to treat the whole person. While inpatient hospitalization is sometimes needed for stabilization, PHP is short-term day treatment for children or adolescents who require intensive support and structure but not inpatient care. Patients may be enrolled directly into PHP or may be “stepped down” from a hospital setting to facilitate recovery and the quickest return to the home and community setting.

Participants in the Child & Adolescent Partial Hospitalization program are also offered onsite educational services. The Fargo Public School district provides staff, including licensed teachers, to help complete work required by their home school. For some kids, it even becomes an opportunity to potentially get caught up on previously incompleted school work.

Summer can be a good time for partial hospitalization, as the potential concern of being absent from traditional school during treatment is eliminated.

Andersen isn’t just passionate about her work. She has a wide variety of interests and is a pilot who enjoys travel and adventure, including international wildlife hunting.

But wherever our work takes us, wouldn’t we all like to say we love our job? Dr. Charlotte Andersen says it all the time. [AWM]

CHARLOTTE ANDERSEN, M.D., PSYCHIATRIST