History of the 3rd Children's Psychiatric Clinic
of the Children's Psychiatric Hospital of Attica (PNA)
and the new Clinic of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
of the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula

The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula (GNAV), operates from 01/11/2011 at the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula (Government Gazette no.764/11-10- 2011, 3d issue).
It was created with the act no. 20609 / 15-09-2011 of the Deputy Commander of the 1st Health District of Attica, with the transfer of the 3rd Children's Psychiatric Clinic of the Children's Psychiatric Hospital of Attica (PNA). The decision to close the Child Psychiatric Structures of the P.N.A. was taken in 2001 under the “Psychargos” program but was completed ten (10) years later.

The Third Clinic of the PNA was established by Presidential Decree No. 99 of January 24, 1979, which amended and supplemented the original organization of the Public Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Hospital (DPNN - - Daou Pentelis). It took about three years for the actual establishment of the clinic on March 3, 1981. A few years later, the establishment of the Fourth Clinic and the reorganization of the Hospital's organization on November 28, 1986 will follow, by which the hospital will be renamed to "Children's Psychiatric Hospital of Attica" (PNA).

The 3rd Clini’s first Director, Mr. Matthew Josaphat, was appointed in June 1981 as well as its first five patients. In its first phase of operation (8.6.1981-31.12.1981) it treated a total of 32 patients who were transferred from other departments to two of the newly built buildings of the Hospital. At the same time (1981), the Medical-Pedagogical Center of Athens was moved from Patision Street to Orionos Street in Goudi. These movements are led by the 3rd Clinic, which also has the lion's share in the operation of this Medical-Pedagogical Center (4 of the 6 days of operation per week). The orientation of the center is declared "basically psychodynamic" and emphasis is placed on the fact that "Psychotherapy is offered". As part of the clinic, a new 16-bed kiosk for children diagnosed with "Autism" and "Psychosis", aged up to 10 years, is operating and efforts are being made to soon operate an Intensive Care Unit for adolescents with serious problems. In the autumn of 1981, every Tuesday, runs an Educational Program. In its first form, the 3rd Clinic attracted several young assistants - physicians who had the specialty of Neurology - Psychiatry.

After about two years, the first Director resigned and in May 1984, Mr. George Karantanos took over as the new Director. During his tenure, the number of hospitalized wards is four. Following a recommendation from the Director of the 3rd Clinic, by decision of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of March 7, 1985, a "unit for autistic children and serious disorders of psychological development" was established, within the Hospital. The unit operated as a boarding school for five days a week, with children going home on Friday and returning on Monday morning. On May 1, 1985, it was decided to establish an Emergency Unit and the responsibility for its operation was assigned to the General Clinic on a 24-hour basis.

As far as the outpatient facilities are concerned, the only until then was a single Medical-Pedagogical Center for all clinics in Goudi, that closed in 1984 and it was decided to operate two new Medical-Pedagogical Centers in North and South Athens, in buildings rented by the Municipality of New Heraklion (1984), and the Municipality of Nea Smyrni (1985) respectively. The third clinic was co-located in the second with the first clinic of the Hospital (then Mr. Papathomopoulos as Director).

When Dimitrios Liakos takes over as the new Director of the 3rd Clinic in 1987, the clinic includes four inpatient departments. The Clinic has been strengthened with new Curators since May 1988 and the Medical Pedagogical Center (IPK) of Nea Smyrni is being organized on a new basis. In 1996, the 1st Clinic moved its headquarters to Pallini. At the end of this year the Day Center "Litharaki" for children aged 3-8 years, which started as a program of Law No 815/94 in 1985 at the Hospital, was transferred to Nea Smyrni . After the retirement of the director, Mr. D. Liakos, at the beginning of 2001, Ms. Parsenia Papanikolaou served as Director for a number of years, while the scientific director of the Medical Pedagogical Center (IPK) of Nea Smyrni had been Dimitrios Georgiadis since 1996. He was elected Director of the 3rd Clinic in October 2007. In 2010 Panagiotis Georgitsis was elected and took over the management of the Medical-Pedagogical Center of Nea Smyrni, which was upgraded to a Directorate.

The 3d Child Psychiatric Clinic was in charge and had scientific responsibility of the Emergency Unit from June 2009 to March 2011, when it closed permanently after moving its chronic patients to other structures and with the decision ( Gov. Gazette no.764 / 11-10-2011, 3d issue) moved to the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula, establishing the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula (GNAV), on 01/11/2011, under the direction of Child Psychiatrist D. Georgiadis until 31/12/2019 when he retired.

From January 1, 2020, the Directorate of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of the General Hospital "Asklipieio" of Voula was taken over by the Director of Child Psychiatry Emmanouel Tsalamanios.