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Category: Anxiety

Alleviating coronavirus anxiety
Alleviating coronavirus anxiety

March 14, 2020

We don’t have to tell you that virtually everyone feels anxious about the spread of COVID-19. An appropriate level of anxiety can be helpful if it inspires people to follow CDC recommendations on hygiene and social distancing. An unnecessary level of anxiety, however, can impair both mental and physical health. Many of your patients and families are suffering from unhealthy anxiety–whether they present with possible COVID-19 symptoms or come in for an unrelated complaint.

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Helping patients deal with school shooter anxiety
Helping patients deal with school shooter anxiety

September 18, 2019

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 92% of public schools had formal active shooter plans in 2016, and 96% conducted lockdown drills. These measures are intended to keep children safe, but they may do as much harm as good. The title of a September 4 New York Times article sums it up: “When Active Shooter Drills Scare the Children They Hope to Protect.” We asked REACH faculty member Jasmine Reese, MD, MPH, about how students react to active shooter drills and what pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) can do. Dr. Reese is Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Specialty Clinic at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. “We have yet to see data on whether these drills are causing more anxiety and other mental health issues among students,” said Dr. Reese. “But it seems clear in practice that they can either cause anxiety and depression or exacerbate existing issues.”

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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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