From their beginnings at the University of Kansas Medical Center, to their leadership roles at Camber Children’s Mental Health, Dr. Anh Vinh and Dr. Jyotsna Adma have dedicated their careers to helping children and families achieve wellness—both physical and mental. Dr. Adma and Dr. Vinh understand the ways in which mental health uniquely impacts physical health and through their roles as Medical Directors at Camber, they’ve seen how early intervention and access to high-quality treatment are key to addressing mental health challenges. With their years of experience, Dr. Adma and Dr. Vinh are experts in children’s health. Read more about these talented leaders and how they’re transforming the behavioral healthcare field.

Learn about the most common forms of youth counseling and where to find services with this free guide.

Helping the Whole Person

Anh Vinh, M.D., Executive Medical Director – Medical & Nursing Services

Looking back to the personal statement she included with her medical school application over 20 years ago, Dr. Anh Vinh realizes there was no way her younger self could have imagined medicine’s progress nor understood the privilege to be in the position she is now. As Executive Medical Director of Medical & Nursing Services at Camber, Dr. Vinh collaborates with leaders in nursing, primary care, psychiatry, therapy, milieu management, pharmacy, radiology, and dietetics to deliver high-quality care to youth and families receiving Camber services. She also provides direct care which further illustrates the positive impact she has on every child Camber serves.

Additionally, Dr. Vinh enhances Camber’s health and wellness programs to improve clinical outcomes for both clients and employees. She performs both regional and national research related to integrated healthcare and models of service provision, suggests clinical pathways to monitor health and wellness outcomes, provides guidance on the growth of technology platforms that prevent medical risks, and develops protocols influenced by evidence-based and best practice guidelines. 

As the nation and world faced a public health crisis, Dr. Vinh provided COVID-19 guidance so children and families could safely access critical mental health treatment while keeping everyone physically healthy.

“The sentiment that remains constant in that personal statement from more than 20 years ago is that I’ve always had a desire to help in a meaningful, sustainable way.” — Dr. Anh Vinh, Executive Medical Director of Medical & Nursing Services at Camber

Intrinsically Connected: Mental and Physical Health

Dr. Vinh’s passion for the intersection of physical and mental healthcare began when a pediatric patient experienced a mental health crisis. They ran into repeated barriers and denial when trying to access treatment. While exploring different approaches and providers for this patient, she found Camber which offered the only treatment plan that the guardian would accept. “When I was later asked to join the Camber team to work with the therapists, nurses, and psychiatrists to integrate and maximize the physical health of clients, it seemed only natural to answer the calling,” said Dr. Vinh.

“Sometimes, patients’ depression was so severe that they couldn’t see past tomorrow, let alone the negative physical health consequences they would suffer in one week, one year, or 10 years. It was all too commonly missed that patients suffered adverse childhood events or trauma. It is so important to help patients be an effective collaborator in the maintenance of their health, and in order to do that, mental health needs to be openly addressed and with a culturally common language,” said Dr. Vinh.

With evidence of how childhood trauma correlates to chronic illnesses and addiction, Dr. Vinh combines her expertise as a family physician with Camber’s world-renowned behavioral and mental healthcare services. This collaboration allows Camber to move beyond assessments and meaningfully address long-term health issues in individuals and communities.

Turning a Passion Into a Career

Jyotsna Adma, M.D., Medical Director – Psychiatry Services

Starting her career with Camber in 2007 as a Child Psychiatrist, Dr. Jyotsna Adma has extensive experience providing therapeutic treatment to thousands of children and families working to overcome mental and behavioral health challenges. In September 2021, she assumed the role of Medical Director of Psychiatry Services where she leads our team of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners in Kansas City, Wichita and Hays. Through her guidance, Camber’s treatment providers focus on ensuring the highest quality patient-centered approach to youth receiving care in one of Camber’s psychiatric inpatient hospitals or residential treatment centers. She collaborates with many different teams across the treatment continuum, including nursing, social work, therapists, medical, utilization review, and administration to improve children’s outcomes. 

“After working at Camber for the past 14 years and having been involved in every aspect of care delivery, I was honored to be asked to lead the psychiatry team and was very pleased to accept,” said Dr. Adma.

As a dual board-certified General Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, she’s an expert in evidence-based medicine with specialty experience with psychiatric diagnoses of anxiety, attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD), depression, and more. 

Read this blog from Dr. Adma to learn about psychiatric medication

Potential of Future Discoveries & Early Intervention

Dr. Adma is fascinated by the potential for life-changing discoveries in mental health research, including brain development and mental health conditions.

“As many advances as we have had in the diagnosis and treatment of physical health conditions, I believe the future of mental health is filled with a lot more research and advances in our learning process about the brain and mental illness.” — Dr. Jyotsna Adma, Medical Director of Psychiatry Services at Camber

The incredible impact of this potential knowledge inspired her to build her career around mental health. “I believe mental health wellness is as equally important as physical health wellness,” said Dr. Adma.

According to U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, and the 40-page advisory he recently released detailing the youth mental health crisis, “the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%” from 2009 to 2019. America’s mental health crisis has been building for more than a decade and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges youth and families face.

In a time of growing mental health education, advocacy and awareness, Dr. Adma says “There is enough evidence to indicate that if mental illness is diagnosed and treated early, there would be better outcomes for the child and family.” Mental health can affect many different aspects and stages of someone’s life as well as how they interact with the people and world around them. Dr. Adma has seen first-hand how mental health services can not only improve quality of life, but also save lives.

Learn more about how Dr. Anh Vinh, Dr. Jyotsna Adma, and the entire Camber team help children and teens find hope and healing through inpatient and residential psychiatric treatment here. Want to be part of a team that is changing lives every day, healing children and families, and strengthening communities? Check out our openings!