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The headlines and the CDC report are indeed alarming, but they should serve as a wakeup call to all of us. Yes, we should think seriously about why we are seeing a steep decline in the mental health of teenage girls, but we have to come together now as parents, family, friends, educators, clinicians, providers, and as a society to support, enhance and establish more preventive measures for our youth.

Athletes will continue to work hard, push themselves, and make their bodies do things many of us can only marvel at, but the attention and awareness to mental health in the field of sports gives them a fighting chance with conditions like anxiety and depression.

The decision to seek residential treatment for OCD may be one of the most difficult decisions to make as a family. Here are the top 3 general questions we tend to get when families are considering a program like ours.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is an unhealthy preoccupation with not just the look, shape, or feel of one’s body or a specific part, but the shame one experiences in the appearance of their body, or a certain aspect of it, really hits the mark. BDD is a chronic condition that can be debilitating and can disrupt various aspects of the person’s day-to-day life for years.

Residential facilities can provide a safe, structured, and treatment-oriented environment for children who need temporary care outside of the home or community. To ensure you find the right placement for your child, we recommend asking the center or facility that you are considering some important questions about their program, best practices, and regulations.

The digital natives we child-focused clinicians work with are simply incredible. Not only do they know their way around technology far better than many adults, but they’re also often fluid with their identity: openly embracing either their or their peers’ diverse ancestry, gender identity, sexual orientation, religions, family background, financial standing, as well as neurodivergence and disabilities in themselves and others.

ADAA Executive Director Susan K. Gurley celebrates the mental health trailblazers within BIPOC communities.

Thanks to research, we know more about depression in children and adults with autism than we used to. Whereas scientists have studied the rates of depression, risk factors, and ways to diagnose it in people on the spectrum, we know far less about how treatments traditionally used on the general population work for those with autism.

As a young child with autism, Ben had trouble putting his feelings into words, except when he was angry. During one outburst, he told his mother he didn’t want to live. Although she took him to mental health providers, they focused on treating him for anxiety, rather than depression.  

One of the biggest adversities children have faced in quarantine is social isolation from their peers. Schooling and extracurricular activities associated with long-term education plans were the first to go during the shutdown, as the highest priority was to protect children from the spread of the virus. While necessary for the safety of the public, this has shown to have devastating effects on pediatric mental health.