Manage & Screen for Pediatric Mental Health at Your Practice

Published On: January 20th, 2025
Don’t leave without downloading this mental health resource handout, which you are welcome to print and distribute to patients and families at your practice!
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The Current Crisis in Pediatric Mental Health

Whether you’ve seen it in the media, encountered it at your practice, or even felt its effects in your own family, there’s no doubting the severity of the pediatric mental health crisis that our country is facing, but many pediatricians report they do not feel adequately prepared to manage and screen for pediatric mental health at their practices. Here are just a few numbers that we’ve been seeing over the last few years:

  • 22% of children, teens, and adolescents in the United States are living with one or more mental health conditions.
  • Studies saw childhood depression and anxiety rising by 29% and 27% between 2016 and 2020, and youth mental illness increasing by 34.6% between 2012 and 2018.
  • Mental health hospitalizations in pediatric patients grew by 124% from 2016 – 2022.
  • Pediatric visits to the emergency department (ED) for mental health concerns saw record highs during the pandemic, rising 24% for children ages 5-11 and 31% for teens ages 12-17.
  • ED visits for suspected suicide attempts also increased in 2020; they were 6% higher for girls ages 12-17 and 3.7% higher for boys of the same age.
  • Only 51% of youth (ages 6-17) with mental illness receive treatment.

One of the biggest hurdles facing families who are trying to access treatment for their child or teen is the long wait times for specialists. Every single county in Virginia has a severe shortage of child & adolescent psychiatrists, with an average of 15 to serve every 100,000 children in the state. When it comes to clinical psychologists, there may be more than 100,000 in America, but only 4,000 are child & adolescent psychologists. This means that when a young person needs support, there are not enough mental health specialists available to meet their needs in a timely manner.

Waitlists for these mental health specialists can take months, and many parents end up reaching out to their child’s pediatrician for support. However, 65% of pediatricians do not feel that they have adequate training to recognize and treat the mental health concerns they see in their patients. To take continuing medical education (CME) training that would help them gain essential confidence and skills, pediatricians often must spend their own time and money to benefit from these opportunities. For many with overwhelming schedules and large caseloads, this isn’t an accessible solution.

Support for Virginia Pediatricians & Primary Care Providers (PCPs) to Manage and Screen for Pediatric Mental Health

VMAP was established to address this growing crisis by supporting pediatricians and other PCPs who care for pediatric patients. Here’s how we do it!

The VMAP Line

Provider Education

The VMAP Line offers free same-day (within 30 minutes!) consultation to any Virginia PCP who treats patients 21 & under and needs support managing their patient’s mental health concerns. You can call 1-888-371-8627 and press 2 to connect with experts like:

  • Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists
  • Developmental Pediatricians
  • Licensed Mental Health Professionals

Additionally, you can request care navigation, either as part of their consultation or separately. Care navigation helps your patients and their families connect with local mental health resources and referrals. This service is invaluable, especially for those who work in areas where resources are scarce.

Each year, VMAP puts on a variety of expert-led CME pediatric mental health trainings. These opportunities are designed to be low or no cost and convenient for prescribers with busy schedules. Our core offerings include:

  • REACH: Mini-fellowship followed by case-based distance learning.
  • ECHO: Monthly virtual cohorts with tracks for specialized interests.
  • Pearls & Pitfalls: Bi-monthly webinars on critical and requested topics.

Each training is meant to leave you feeling more confident when diagnosing, treating, and managing pediatric mental health.

Both of these services work together to support pediatricians and other PCPs as they face this crisis in pediatric mental health.

How Pediatricians and PCPs Can Make a Difference


  1. Understand Your Role in Early Intervention

Pediatricians and other PCPs who care for children and adolescents can use regular wellness visits as a space to identify signs of mental, emotional, or developmental health concerns. These interactions are the perfect opportunity for intervention, because they are an opportunity to assess the child, speak with the parent, and offer education and advice to help them manage their unique situation. Parents may not recognize warning signs in their child, and you are a trusted resource that can help differentiate between normal and concerning behavior. Early intervention is known to improve both prognosis and long-term outcomes, and it supports development and the whole family.

  1. Practice Universal and Targeted Mental Health Screening

The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends universal screening at specific intervals for mental health concerns and developmental delays in children and adolescents. They also recommend targeted screening for pediatric mental health concerns in the following circumstances, even in the absence of symptoms:

  • Ages 8+ = screen for anxiety
  • Ages 12+ = screen for major depressive disorder
  • Ages 12+ = screen for suicide risk

Despite these recommendations, universal mental health screening for children and adolescents is not standardized practice. Additionally, follow-up rates with recommended mental health services after a visit are reportedly low. This is unfortunate, because universal screening is incredibly effective. It can identify twice as many patients with moderate symptoms and 28% more patients with severe symptoms than a provider’s own assessment without using a screening tool.

The most recommended universal mental health screening tools for pediatricians are the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) and the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). For teens and adolescents, the HEEADSSS assessment can be helpful.

  1. Be Prepared to Identify and Treat Pediatric Mental Health Issues

There are three things you can do this year to gain confidence in identifying, treating, and managing pediatric mental health concerns at your practice.

1. Decide What Screening Tools to Use and When
The VMAP Guidebook has a great “visit workflow” on page 9, which can help you determine how to structure screenings into wellness visits with your patients. It also has care guides that break down screening options, treatment plans, and resources for some of the most common pediatric mental health concerns. Click below to access these care guides and screening tools!

2. Take Continuing Medical Education (CME) Trainings in Pediatric Mental Health
CME is a great way to learn more about pediatric mental health and gain skills to address the situations you’re seeing at your practice. Unfortunately, there are certain barriers we mentioned earlier that keep many pediatricians and PCPs from attending all the CME programs they’re interested in. To address this, VMAP offers incredible nationally recognized trainings like REACH and ECHO at a significantly reduced rate, and we offer opportunities throughout the year so you can take one that works with your schedule.
3. Request Free Consultation or Care Navigation as Needed
Even if you feel completely confident in managing pediatric mental health cases that present in your practice, some situations call for additional support. You can request a consultation or care navigation from the VMAP Line, and you will receive a call back in 30 minutes within business hours. This support makes it possible for you to receive same-day support, which is crucial when it comes to managing early intervention.

Resource for Your Patients

We’ve also created a handout for you to share with your patients and their families who may not need help from our care navigation service, but could still use a list of mental health resources available in their area.

Feel free to print this and distribute it at your practice!

Takeaways


How Pediatricians & PCPs Can Make a Difference

  1. Understand Your Role in Early Intervention
  2. Practice Universal and Targeted Mental Health Screening
  3. Be Prepared to Identify & Treat Pediatric Mental Health Issues

How You Can Be Prepared to Manage & Screen for Pediatric Mental Health Issues

  • Decide What Screening Tools to Use and When
  • Take Continuing Medical Education (CME) Trainings in Pediatric Mental Health
  • Request Free Consultation or Care Navigation as Needed

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