School-based mental health programs (SBMHP) are vital to providing youth access to mental health services. This study aims to characterize changes in therapy encounters and psychotropic medication prescriptions in an urban SBMHP during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used electronic medical records to extract demographic, clinical, and utilization data…

Background: We examined trends in mental health service utilization before, during, and in the immediate return to in-person learning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Retrospective chart review was assessed for changes in odds of any visit being a mental health encounter from five school-based health centers from the 2018-2019 to the…

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a worldwide transition to providing online services overnight, highlighting the urgent need for empirically supported telehealth interventions. The current study examined the effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth, an adaptation from the original social skills intervention developed for in-person provision,…

Telepsychiatry has been rapidly adopted to help control the spread of coronavirus. Clinicians have raised concerns over this for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The remote delivery of psychological interventions in particular requires further attention as their in-person delivery has autism spectrum disorder--associated…

The COVID-19 pandemic and its policy responses have had a detrimental effect on millions of people's mental health. Here, we investigate its impact on autistic people and their families using qualitative methods. Specifically, we addressed: how did autistic people experience an increase in social isolation during the initial lockdown? And how was…

Background: Adolescent substance use is often associated with concurrent mental health problems (e.g., depression, suicide attempts, parental emotional and physical abuse, not feeling close to people at school, and lower virtual connectedness) at multiple ecological levels. Objective: This study examined whether such risk factors among adolescents…

With students having experienced dramatic changes to their lives and perhaps personally experiencing serious illness and death within their immediate or extended families due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools may have to examine how to broadly implement the use of trauma-informed care in schools. This article examines why experiences related to…

Contemporary educational practices comprise of the integration of school based health centers for the treatment of physical and mental health conditions of their student populations. These conditions must be addressed as they greatly impact academic performance and functioning. However, Mexican American adolescents continue to be a population at…

Positive mental health is an essential aspect of development from childhood through adulthood. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences cognition, feelings, and behaviors. Mental health wellness determines how an individual responds to stress, engages with interpersonal relationships, and makes healthy…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) health problems of children and adolescents in the United States (U.S.). A "collective" and "coordinated" national economic and social reconstruction effort aimed at shoring up services to promote children's MEB, like the Marshall Plan that helped…

Aims: Digital living is now an integral part of many children and young people's (CYP) everyday experience. Practitioners who work with them are increasingly focused on effectively deploying technology to help those with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Throughout all aspects and phases of work, practitioners must adhere to legal…

School based health centers (SBHCs) are often at the front line of medical and mental health services for students in the schools they serve. Citywide school closures in New York City in March 2020 and ongoing social distancing procedures resulted in significant changes in SBHC services as well as access to these services. Furthermore, the…

This year's "America's Children in Brief" continues a tradition of collaboration by agencies across the Federal Government to advance the understanding of what our Nation's children and families may need to help ensure bright, healthy futures. This year's report highlights selected special feature indicators related to COVID-19 to…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic swept the nation by surprise, leaving a deep-seated impact on individuals' social, mental, and physical health. Despite there being disparities between Black and White/non-Hispanic individuals, minimal research has been conducted to explore the effects of the virus on marginalized groups. This study…

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic upended our country, leading to a hunger and education crisis like we have never seen before. This report reflects on the role schools play in supporting a culture of wellness; the opportunities, trends, barriers and reasons why schools have been the great equalizer in America, where the minority is the…