Parents in your clinic may casually mention that their children seem to have an insatiable appetite or tend to overeat when feeling upset. These youths might present at their annual physical exams with significant weight gain or even obesity. Fluctuations in appetite are a normal and expected part of development. Distinguishing these typical changes from […]

From political tensions to natural disasters, the news can trigger complex, unsettling emotions and negatively impact mental health. Most children and adolescents encounter current events through social media or friends rather than traditional outlets like newspapers or the evening news on television. This raises concerns about misinformation and sensationalism in the news stories they encounter, […]

For many children, the anxiety of a new school year is not just one of nervous excitement about a new year beginning. For many it may be a youth’s severe concern of about the risk of victimization as a result of peer bullying.  Awareness of the potential that a youth may be experiencing bullying should be part […]

We have all cared for patients and families reporting long wait times to see a therapist. And we know that for most patients with moderate-severe mental health concerns, the combination of medication and therapy works better than either intervention alone. Other BHCS newsletters address medication initiation for various behavioral health concerns, but what about non-medication […]

High turnover among therapists, psychiatrists, and primary care providers disrupts therapeutic alliances, causing emotional distress, reduced engagement, and treatment discontinuity. Building meaningful rapport often takes months—even years—and losing that relationship can trigger regression, hopelessness, or treatment dropout. It’s incumbent on both individual clinicians and healthcare systems to mitigate this disruption, safeguard continuity, and help patients […]

Many of the evidence-based therapies that healthcare providers use to treat youth emotional and behavioral concerns arise from literature in which under-represented communities were not included in the population sample. Therefore, a theoretical question arises in whether or not such therapies are indeed evidence based and/or applicable to under-represented minority communities. Moreover, it is possible […]

As discussed in a previous newsletter, psychotropic medications, particularly antipsychotics, can lead to clinically significant weight gain. Second-generation antipsychotics, such as olanzapine and clozapine, are believed to disrupt glucose, lipid, and appetite regulation by acting on dopamine, serotonin, histamine, and muscarinic receptors. These medications also influence hormones such as leptin, adiponectin, and ghrelin, promoting increased […]

The differentiation of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) remains a significant challenge for mental health professionals due to overlapping symptomatology. These disorders manifest in affective and behavioral dysregulation, yet they have distinct pathophysiologies, developmental trajectories, and treatment implications. This article provides an in-depth analysis of these disorders […]

Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as Major Depressive Disorder with Seasonal Pattern, is a form of depression that consistently occurs during certain months of the year. It can present during either winter or summer, but it more commonly occurs in the colder months when there are fewer daylight hours. While distance from the equator is […]