Blog
ARCHIVE
April 30, 2026
The decision to wean a child or adolescent off selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) often comes with feelings of both hope and trepidation—not just from the parent and child, but also from the primary care clinician. A recent meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry found that 15% of patients experience withdrawal symptoms when stopping SSRI
Read Article
September 26, 2024
“Any transition is a time that our patients can trip and fall,” explains Tina Nicholson, MD, a family doctor specializing in children and youth mental health. The transition to college, especially if it involves moving away from home, is no exception. To understand how providers can help adolescents navigate this transition, we spoke with REACH
Read Article
July 22, 2024
“Many parents’ biggest concern about starting their children on medication is committing to an intervention they won’t be able to stop in the future,” explains child and adolescent psychiatrist Laurence Greenhill, MD. Research shows that parental beliefs and concerns are a top contributing factor to whether children and adolescents receive proper treatment for mental health
Read Article
September 8, 2022
On August 27, The New York Times ran an article by Matt Richtel titled “This Teen Was Prescribed 10 Psychiatric Drugs. She Is Not Alone.” It documents the practice of “polypharmacy”: prescribing multiple medications—most of which have not been tested either in children or in combination with one another—to manage young patients’ depression or anxiety. That young patients are being prescribed potent cocktails of untested drugs is obviously wrong. The question is, how did we get to this point, and what can we do about it?
Read Article
June 13, 2022
As summer rolls around, families may ask whether their children can have a “holiday” from their psychoactive medication, especially for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We asked Lawrence Amsel, MD, MPH, a REACH faculty member and associate professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, to lay out the pros and cons.
Read Article
January 21, 2022
Newer treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include two medications that address some of the common issues families have with standard stimulant treatments. Another development is use of devices to manage ADHD symptoms.
Read Article
July 26, 2021
If you struggle with titrating psychiatric medications for your pediatric patients, you are not alone. Even for some alumni of the REACH program Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care, lack of comfort with psychiatric medications can hamper effective treatment. What does it take to dose and cross-titrate effectively? We asked two REACH faculty members: Peter S. Jensen, MD, REACH founder, and Amy Kryder, MD, education lead of the statewide REACH program in Virginia.
Read Article
July 24, 2019
“Going to college is exciting, but students need to know that this experience, though positive, may also be stressful,” said REACH faculty member Elena Man, MD. Dr. Man recommends resources and strategies that pediatric primary care clinicians can use to prepare patients for this significant transition to a new environment for learning, living, and friendships.
Read Article
November 15, 2018
The new edition of Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care (GLAD-PC) is now available on The REACH Institute website. This practical toolkit offers dozens of resources to help pediatric primary care providers diagnose and treat depression.
Read ArticleFrom sponsoring a full training cohort to funding an individual scholarship, every dollar expands access to evidence-based mental health care in the communities that need it most.
Explore Ways to GiveGet the latest research, training updates, and practical tools
delivered to your inbox. Join thousands of clinicians working to
improve pediatric mental health outcomes.
Follow us on LinkedIn
🎉 Please join us in congratulating REACH’s 2026 Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) scholarship recipients! This year, REACH awarded full PPP scholarships to 45 clinicians serving high-need communities across the country, equipping them…
Helping children with mental health concerns can be complex, but you don't have to navigate it alone. REACHing Solutions is The REACH Institute's podcast for pediatric clinicians, featuring practical conversations, expert insights, and real-world strategies to…
A look inside recent REACH trainings, where clinicians and health care systems are learning together, building practical skills, and strengthening their ability to support children and families.
Join thousands of clinicians who have strengthened their confidence and expanded their skills through REACH's evidence-based mental health trainings.
GET IN TOUCH