About Me

Lisa Karabelnik, MD is a board certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.  She is also board certified in Adult Psychiatry.  Her practice focuses on patients under 18 but she does follow patients through college and also sees a small population of adults.  She completed an accelerated 6 year medical program which included graduating from Lehigh University in 1992 and then from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1994. 

Dr. Karabelnik completed a triple board residency training program at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York which included training in Pediatrics, Adult Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Upon completion of her training, Dr. Karabelnik moved to Connecticut and took a position at Hartford Hospital and the Institute of Living. During her 7 years there, she worked in many capacities.  These included the hospital based outpatient practice and many on and off campus programs.  Included in the campus programs was the Partial/Intensive Outpatient Hospital program that both enabled children to return home following an inpatient psychiatric admission or for children trying to prevent an inpatient admission. Dr. Karabelnik was also part of the Consult Liaison team at the Connecticut Children's Medical Center which helped with children who were admitted to a medical service but were struggling whether due to their medical condition, an eating disorder, or  other cause.   Dr. Karabelnik was also the consulting psychiatrist to the Emergency Department at CCMC.  Additionally, Dr. Karabelnik was the psychiatrist for the Grace S. Webb Middle School, a therapeutic day school for children whose needs could not be met by their public schools. Dr. Karabelnik also supervised Child Psychiatry residents and other mental health professionals and APRN’s in the community based clinic. The off campus programs included supervising the clinicians of the Emergency Mobile Crisis Program.   Finally, she also played an integral role in educating the adult and child psychiatry residents at both the UCONN and Institute of Living Residency Programs. This included holding the position as one of the Site Directors of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training program at Hartford Hospital and the Institute of Living.

During her time in Hartford, Dr. Karabelnik also participated in the  Connecticut Council for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Connecticut branch of the national organization for Child Psychiatry, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  This organization played a major role in advocating for child mental health services in Connecticut and crafted a blueprint to make mental health services available to more children in the state. She is currently appointed to the PANDAS Advisory Board to the Connecticut General Assembly.  This organization's aim is to create a resource for families,educators and providers when they are treating someone with PANDAS. 

In the winter of 2006, Dr. Karabelnik decided that she could better meet the needs of the community by leaving the hospital and opening a private practice.  This provided her with the opportunity to take the time to understand more of what was happening in the lives of her patients and therefore provide more effective care.  She does evaluations and medication consultations/management. She also works very closely many therapists in the area. Her style of practice is diverse drawing on a range of interventions to help her patients make the most of their individual abilities and to address their various needs. She treats people with a wide range of disorders, including: depression, anxiety, attentional issues, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Selective Mutism and adjustment issues.

Dr. Karabelnik strongly believes in the team approach. She feels it is important both for parents and children to understand the reasoning behind her recommendations. She takes the time to ensure that the entire family has had the opportunity to ask any questions and truly feels comfortable before initiating any treatment. She also encourages older child and adolescents to have an active part in their treatment planning. Also, when patients have individual and/or family therapists, Dr. Karabelnik works closely with them to ensure that there is excellent continuity of care. Finally, she works hard to keep primary care providers involved in a patient's care and keeps them up to date on any recommendations, current medications and treatment plans. This helps to ensure the safety and well-being of all of her patients.

Dr. Karabelnik works to meet each individual’s needs, while at the same time helping patients realize and use their strengths to master their current challenges.