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Category: Cognitive behavioral therapy

Using CBT to Support Pediatric Patients with Depression
Using CBT to Support Pediatric Patients with Depression

March 27, 2025

“As primary care providers, we can help our pediatric patients with depression using basic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tools,” explains pediatrician and REACH faculty member Jackie Cotton, MD. “Many common recommendations currently used align with CBT best practices. As part of an evidence-based treatment protocol, a clear roadmap for using these tools helps clinicians save

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Diagnosing Seasonal Affective Disorder
Diagnosing Seasonal Affective Disorder

March 26, 2024

  “Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is more than just the winter blues,” explains Maureen Montgomery, MD, a pediatrician based in Buffalo, NY. “It’s a subtype of clinical depression that has very specific characteristics.”  As the name suggests, SAD is a seasonal and cyclical type of depression. In most cases, SAD occurs during the fall and

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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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Treating pediatric trauma
Treating pediatric trauma

September 20, 2022

“The biggest predictor of having something bad happen to you is having had something bad happen to you in the past,” said Brooks Keeshin, MD. Dr. Keeshin, a child abuse pediatrician and child psychiatrist at the University of Utah, co-developed the new REACH Institute course Addressing Trauma in Pediatric Primary Care.  At least 66% of

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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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How Pediatric Professionals Can Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Address Anxiety
How Pediatric Professionals Can Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Address Anxiety

March 25, 2019

“Pediatric primary care providers can have a big impact on child mental health simply because we see children early and often,” said Dana Kornfeld, MD, REACH board member and associate clinical professor of pediatrics at George Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Kornfeld, who practices at Pediatric Care Center in Bethesda, MD, endorses the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques in primary care to nip potentially crippling anxiety in the bud.

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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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