Pediatric Mental Health Care Education
Improving Mental Health Outcomes for Children in Illinois
As a pediatric health care provider, you may have found yourselves on the frontlines of addressing mental health, conducting screenings and interventions to better support your patients. As needs grow, we want to ensure you have the information and resources to effectively address pediatric mental health in the primary health care setting.
Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Partnership
The Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) project seeks to help pediatricians and other pediatric clinical providers improve mental health treatment and care for patients in a primary care setting. In partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Illinois DocAssist, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), ICAAP has developed a new continuing education webinar series structured on a continuum of mental health.
Earn Free CME and Build Valuable Skills
Building Capacity to Manage Mental Health in Primary Care Settings
We invite all Illinois pediatric health care providers to register for our webinar series: Building Capacity - Improving Pediatric Mental Health Screening, Treatment, and Care in the Primary Care Setting. Content of this webinar series was created in response to results of a state-wide pediatric mental health care needs assessment conducted by ICAAP in 2023.
This series is made up of four unique learning modules lead by pediatric mental health experts.
The series will be tailored for the IL pediatric health care provider, and include IL specific resources, public health context, and cultural context. Key topics include:
- Common medical frameworks
- Myths and biases around mental health
- The role of trauma and adversity in mental health conditions
- Consultation models
- Types of disorders and corresponding symptoms
- Screening and diagnosis guidance
- Addressing multiple conditions
- Managing a mental health crisis in real time
- Treatment and care
Exclusive Peer-to-Peer Collaboration
Each webinar will be accompanied by an opportunity for peer-to-peer collaboration. Peer-to-peer collaboration sessions will occur the same week as each webinar and will provide participants with the chance to engage in additional Q & A with webinar faculty and to discuss with each other about how webinar content can be practically implemented in the clinical setting. Peer-to-peer collaboration sessions are not eligible for CME.
Webinar & Learning Module Structure
Building Capacity - Improving Pediatric Mental Health Screening, Treatment, and Care in the Primary Care Setting is composed of four unique webinars which address the most common knowledge gaps IL pediatricians self-identified, including:
Webinar 1
The Primary Care Approach to Addressing Mental Health in Children and Youth
Live Webinar Date: August 6, 2024 at 12pm
Live Peer Support Date: August 8, 2024 at 12pm
Presenter/Faculty: Jennifer Thomas, MD and Mary Dobbins, MD, FAAP
Please register for all each webinar individually.
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Explain common misconceptions and stereotypes regarding mental health and behavior in children and youth.
- Describe the biologic effects of toxic stress and trauma and how these are mitigated by interpersonal interactions.
- Discuss how the cultural differences between primary care and psychiatry result in unique professional approaches to managing mental health and behavior in children and youth.
- Identify ways to improve mental health care in your primary care setting.
- Explain SAMHSA's framework for integrating physical and behavioral health services in primary care, including consultation options, models of care, and referral to specialty pediatric mental health services
Webinar 2
Diagnosis of Common Pediatric Mental Health Conditions
Live Webinar Date: August 20, 2024 at 12pm
Live Peer Support Date: August 23, 2024 at 12pm
Presenter/Faculty: Nidhi Kukreja, MD, FAAP
Please register for all each webinar individually.
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Summarize intrinsic vs experiential disorders.
- Discuss the role of development and adaptability in the etiology of mood and behavior problems.
- Recognize common presentations of pediatric mental health issues.
- Give examples of the different pediatric mental health screening tools and when to use them.
- Describe how to diagnose multiple, co-occurring mental health conditions.
Webinar 3
Management of Pediatric Mental Health Conditions
Live Webinar Date: September 9, 2024 at 12pm
Live Peer Support Date: September 13, 2024 at 12pm
Presenter/Faculty: Anna Volerman Beaser, MD, FAAP
Please register for all each webinar individually.
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Apply steps for assessing and managing the safety of a child experiencing a mental health crisis.
- List ways to connect under-resourced populations to therapy.
- Recognize the importance of the therapeutic relationship in primary care and specialty settings.
- List medications used for the management of common mental health conditions.
Webinar 4
Management of Complex Mental Health Presentations in Pediatrics
Live Webinar Date: September 23, 2024 at 12pm
Live Peer Support Date: September 27, 2024 at 12pm
Presenter/Faculty: Frank Belmonte, DO, FAAP
Please register for all each webinar individually.
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- List practical approaches to safely responding to a pediatric mental health crisis.
- Distinguish the use of urgent vs emergent evaluations.
- Implement de-escalation techniques when a child or adolescent is experiencing a mental health crisis.
- Understand how to communicate with families/caregivers during and after a mental health crisis.
Earning CME/CE for Participation
The Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics designates each live webinar for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Nurses and Nurse Practitioners can submit Certificates of Attendance to their accrediting board to claim credit for participation in the live webinars.