Archive for psychiatry
Suicide prevention in teens: Can we intervene through primary care?
The past year has seen a disturbing rise in suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents, with a spike of suicidal teens going to emergency departments (EDs). This adds to a growing trend: From 2007 to 2016, ED visits for deliberate self-harm more than quadrupled nationwide among children age 5 to 17. In a recent review ... Read More
Nurses, COVID-19, and PTSD: When it hurts to care
When Boston Children’s Michelle Schuster, MSN, RN, CPHON, inpatient oncology/hematology staff nurse and Patricia Dwyer, PhD, RN, CNOR, nurse scientist, set out to study post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in nurses, they weren’t thinking about COVID-19. The two had been studying PTSD in nurses for almost two years when the pandemic hit. Key takeaways· PTSD is ... Read More
It’s okay to be scared: Talking about COVID-19 with your kids
Images and stories of the global COVID-19 pandemic surround us, and it’s normal for kids to have questions. There’s no easy way to talk to children about it, but doing so can help them better understand this and other things that might scare them. Here are some tips to help you have those conversations, from ... Read More
Parenting in the age of COVID-19: Coping with six common challenges
As families grapple with an ever-changing normal, stress and anxiety can escalate. We turned to Erica Lee, PhD, and Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, PhD, psychologists in Boston Children’s Department of Psychiatry, for answers to six common parenting challenges. Challenge #1: Struggling with schedules With everyone at home, typical schedules have fallen by the wayside, which can feel ... Read More
Going into science: Women scientists at Boston Children’s offer advice to girls
In honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), we invited women scientists at all stages of their careers at Boston Children’s Hospital to share their scientific agendas. Here is some of what they had to say. The scientists also offered their advice for girls interested in entering the field. ... Read More
New treatment guidelines for complex ADHD
Approximately 7.5 percent of children and adolescents in the U.S. have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and about two-thirds of them have one or more co-existing conditions such as learning disorders or mental health problems. Treatment for these more complex forms of ADHD has focused largely on medical interventions. But now, a new clinical guideline ... Read More
Why are doctors prescribing play?
If you want to make sure that your child succeeds, make sure that they … play. The job of children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), is to play. In fact, the AAP has a policy statement about the importance and power of play — and encourages pediatricians to do everything they can to get ... Read More
Is your teen depressed? Seven tips for parents
Dr. Oscar Bukstein provides 7 tips to help parents recognize depression in teenagers and find them appropriate and successful treatment.
Empowering pediatricians to provide mental health care
By late adolescence, up to 20 percent of children will have experienced impairing levels of anxiety, depression, and/or ADHD, the most common and treatable mental health conditions. But child behavioral health specialists are in chronic short supply with long wait lists. Massachusetts, for example, has nearly 300,000 youths with at least one diagnosable psychiatric disorder ... Read More
Please don’t judge: Supporting a friend whose child has a mental health condition
Shannon Larson is a member of Boston Children’s Psychiatry Family Advisory Council, a volunteer group of family representatives as well as members of Psychiatry leadership, who work together to improve patient care and families’ experiences in the Department of Psychiatry. When my children were younger, I was always able to help them maneuver the difficulties of growing ... Read More