Your Starting Point for Mental Health Support
The Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC) at Cincinnati Children’s makes it easy to access all our behavioral and mental health services. Think of it as our front door to Psychiatry.
When to Call PIRC
PIRC offers high-quality evaluations and triage that direct you to services your family needs. Call PIRC if:
- Your child is having a mental health emergency (also known as an acute crisis).
- Your child does not have an existing provider, and they need behavioral health treatment.
- You have questions about inpatient care, outpatient care or community services. You can also email* psychiatryresponse@cchmc.org.
- You are a provider and have questions about referring a patient.
What to Expect
Often, people go straight to the Emergency Department (ED) during a mental health emergency—even if the ED isn’t the best place for the care they need. PIRC is set up to understand your situation and get you the right treatment. Here’s how it works:
- Call PIRC. When you call PIRC, a trained staff person answers. They gather basic information, so they know why you’re calling.
- Talk to a clinician. If you or your child is in crisis, we connect you with a licensed behavioral health clinician. They do a mental health safety assessment. This assessment focuses on the current crisis only. It is not a full psychiatric assessment. Instead, it’s a conversation that helps us better evaluate personal risk and factors that keep you and your child safe.
- Receive a referral. Based on the safety assessment, we recommend next steps for your child’s treatment. We may refer you to an appointment at the PIRC Bridge Crisis Clinic, the ED or another type of psychiatric care.
PIRC Bridge Crisis Clinic
The PIRC Bridge Crisis Clinic is an outpatient clinic. Our providers who typically see kids in the ED provide the same type of psychiatric assessment, except it’s not in the ED. Instead, you complete the assessment virtually or at the Burnet Campus or Liberty Campus within 24 hours.
*Please remember that information sent via email is not secure or confidential.
