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Category: Anxiety

How Social Media is Impacting Teens
How Social Media is Impacting Teens

May 10, 2025

The most important question that we can ask teens isn’t if they use social media, it’s how. Just last May, the Surgeon General’s advisory on social media use in youth exposed some shocking statistics: Among 13 to 17-year-olds, up to 95% use social media, with 35% saying they use social media “almost constantly.”

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Untangling ADHD and Anxiety as Comorbidities
Untangling ADHD and Anxiety as Comorbidities

June 25, 2024

“ADHD and anxiety presenting together is very common in children and adolescents. But it can be difficult to discern which is the primary condition and which to treat first,” explains Kari Overstreet, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, a pediatric nurse practitioner focused on child psychiatry and a Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) faculty

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Responding to the Alarming Rise of Depression in Adolescent Girls
Responding to the Alarming Rise of Depression in Adolescent Girls

May 18, 2023

Gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by adolescent girls and the proactive steps clinicians can take to support them.

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Supporting mental health needs in rural areas
Supporting mental health needs in rural areas

April 20, 2023

Rural healthcare providers can be overwhelmed—and understaffed with specialists. Discover how REACH inspired Elizabeth Wallis, M.D., to build a community to support her patients.

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Don’t panic about panic attacks
Don’t panic about panic attacks

February 24, 2023

“The impairment from a panic attack doesn’t come from the episode itself,” said REACH faculty member James Wallace, MD. “It comes from the patient’s and family’s reaction.”

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After you screen for anxiety, then what?
After you screen for anxiety, then what?

October 24, 2022

As you’ve heard, the US Preventative Service Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued draft guidelines recommending that primary care providers (PCPs) screen all adults aged 19 to 64 for anxiety disorders. Guidelines recommending anxiety screening for children aged 8 to 18 were finalized last week. The question is, if the screener indicates that anxiety is an issue, then what do you do? Patty Gibson, MD, a psychiatrist on the REACH Adult Behavioral Health faculty, shared some basics from the course to answer the question.

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IEP and 504 school accommodations for mental health needs
IEP and 504 school accommodations for mental health needs

July 12, 2022

Children with mental health diagnoses may need special accommodations in order to succeed in school. Patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism come immediately to mind. However, children with depression and anxiety disorders may also struggle in the classroom. Pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) and therapists can help families get the school accommodations their children need. Mark Wolraich, MD, REACH faculty member and retired professor of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, emphasizes that children are best served when professionals take a team approach to mental health care.

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Overcoming anxiety about the news
Overcoming anxiety about the news

May 25, 2022

In the wake of the Texas school shooting tragedy, your young patients–and their families–may be experiencing anxiety that can affect normal functioning. That anxiety can manifest in many ways, from reluctance to go to school to increased aggressive tendencies.  In fact, pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) have been observing the effects of news consumption on their young patients for years now. The spike in anxiety at the beginning of the Covid pandemic is another example. Families may be experiencing trauma as they watch scenes of devastation and displacement in Ukraine. Every act of terrorism or mass violence inspires more fear. The examples go on. As your families’ trusted PCP, you can influence how patients and families deal with anxiety over recent events and the continuous barrage of bad news that characterizes today’s media culture.

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Helping families deal with holiday stress
Helping families deal with holiday stress

November 17, 2021

“In some ways the holidays this year will be harder than last year for many people,” said Deborah Buccino, MD, pediatrician and REACH board member. “Earlier, we had pretty clear-cut rules about what you could and could not do safely. This year, we have a lot more gray areas.”

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July 16, 2026

Ready to join the 9,500+ clinicians who've completed REACH training? The Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) program equips pediatric primary care clinicians with practical, evidence-based skills to assess, diagnose, manage, and treat common…

July 13, 2026

We're proud to share that REACH CEO Lisa Hunter Romanelli, Ph.D., recently joined the We Are For Good podcast as part of their Stories That Fill the Hope Gap series. In the episode titled "Lead With…

July 9, 2026

Two leading mental health researchers recently highlighted REACH's work in an editorial published in Psychiatric Services (American Psychiatric Association), underscoring the growing recognition of our approach to expanding access to pediatric mental health care. Reflecting on…

July 7, 2026

July is BIPOC Mental Health Month, an opportunity to recognize the unique mental health challenges that many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities face. BIPOC youth and adults have a right to culturally responsive, evidence-based…

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