Dr. Michael Wenzinger weighs in on juveniles with suicide attempts.
Author: Megan
Five factors to ensure an infant thrives (Links to an external site)
New study from Joan Luby and Deanna Barch’s labs at WashU make case that ‘thrive factors’ in early development should be a public health priority
Preschoolers with depression at greater risk of suicide during adolescence (Links to an external site)
Findings by Joan Luby, Deanna Barch and Laura Hennefield emphasize need for early mental health screenings, interventions
Beating the Baby Blues: What to Look for in New Moms (Links to an external site)
A year after CVPA school shooting, counselors offer advice on how to talk to children about it (Links to an external site)
Neha Navsaria, PhD discusses how a lot of times, we avoid having difficult conversations because we’re struggling to find the right thing to say.
Orchard Farm School District thinking ‘inside the box’ when it comes to intruder alert notifications (Links to an external site)
With the number of school shootings, recently, many children are bound to be wondering when their number is going to come up. Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses how it is important to have an open-ended conversation with your child at the beginning of the year.
5 Things Therapists Say Parents Are Confessing To This Time Of Year (Links to an external site)
Back-to-school season is full of anticipation for both kids and parents. Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses ways to talk with children about their daily school experiences.
Local doctor seeing cases of teens consuming marijuana laced with fentanyl (Links to an external site)
Dr. Michael Wenzinger, a staff psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine, has seen a few cases where teenagers have inadvertently consumed the combination of marijuana and fentanyl.
Why people may be forgetting their COVID pandemic memories (Links to an external site)
Jennifer Holzhauer, MSW, LCSW weighs in: As we move into a new phase where COVID-19 is more endemic, many of these memories will fade with the passage of time and the constraints of how much our brain can hold, but experts say it’s more than that.
Rogers, Smyser awarded MERIT grant for research on preterm babies (Links to an external site)
Cynthia Rogers, MD and co-investigator Christopher Smyser, MD, have received a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support their research focused on preterm babies’ brains as the children age.
Rogers named director of child psychiatry division (Links to an external site)
Cynthia E. Rogers, MD, has been named the new Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and director of the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
More new moms struggle with mental health, and they are seeking help (Links to an external site)
Drs. Rogers, Lenze and Tara Tinnin provide therapy and services to new moms
Boarding for Youth Mental Health Conditions: How Can Hospitalists Be Part of the Solution? (Links to an external site)
Dr. Eric Spiegel and colleagues discuss how we need to come together as leaders from behavioral health, ED, hospital medicine, hospitals and health systems, and community partners with ideas and innovation to address the youth mental health crisis.
Young people at risk (Links to an external site)
Dr. Daniel Mamah’s ‘Washington Early Recognition Center’ specializes in youth psychosis, a state of mind that occurs when the brain cannot properly process information, causing a splintered reality in which sufferers cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not.
Nash Way well-deserved tribute for Dr. Homer Nash, family (Links to an external site)
Part of Children’s Place Street will soon be named Nash Way – the change will honor a family whose legacy continues to define pediatric care in St. Louis.
More than 200,000 children nationwide lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19. This St. Louis nonprofit is helping kids process their grief (Links to an external site)
Dr. Eric Spiegel weighs in on adolescent depression, and how there’s no one ‘right’ way to grieve, in relation to children who have lost a parent to COVID-19.
Sarafinovska awarded Autism Science Foundation Fellowship (Links to an external site)
Congratulations to Simona Sarafinovska on being chosen as a recipient of an Autism Science Foundation Fellowship for her proposal “Molecular and Cellular Origins of Sex-Specific Social Motivation Deficits in Autism”, awarded to nine outstanding early-career researchers.
The St. Louis American Foundation Honors Outstanding Health Professionals (Links to an external site)
Angela Klocke, MPH, MSN, RN has been honored in the 2022 ‘Salute to Excellence in Health Care’ by the St. Louis American Foundation.
Wash U study aims to find out how divorce affects young children (Links to an external site)
Dr. Susan Perlman is leading the first study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to look at the psychiatric toll of divorce on children, looking at brain imaging to determine if strong parent relationships protect children against the biological effects of stress and any future mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression.
Risk of schizophrenia assessed with new screening tool (Links to an external site)
Dr. Daniel Mamah and colleagues in Nairobi, Kenya, have shown that a screening tool developed at WashU can help predict in about 5 minutes whether young people are at high risk for schizophrenia and may go on to develop the illness.
Washington U. and St. Louis Children’s Hospital receive $15 million gift to transform mental health care for kids (Links to an external site)
A $15 million gift to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine from St. Louis-area couple Bob and Signa Hermann aims to change how pediatric mental health care is provided in the St. Louis area by identifying and managing children’s behavioral health problems before they turn into crises.
Researchers use a unique approach to help unlock the mystery of autism (Links to an external site)
Washington University researchers bred mice and grew stem cells derived from Jake’s blood to find ways to treat his disorder and look for answers to the larger puzzle of autism.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital & Washington University School of Medicine to Develop a New Care Model to Improve Behavioral Health of Children Thanks to the Hermann Family (Links to an external site)
St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington Univ. are tackling the issue of behavioral health support with a new research center to serve as a platform to transform behavioral health starting with the family unit.
Promoting resilience in health-care workers aim of new grant (Links to an external site)
Dr. Ginger Nicol and other researchers have received a grant that aims to reduce burnout and promote mental health and wellness among healthcare workers.
Expert tips for reducing your child’s screen time (Links to an external site)
Dr. Neha Navsaria offers guidance to families who want to reduce screen time while using technology in healthy ways.
WashU part of $65 million NIH study of schizophrenia in young people (Links to an external site)
Daniel Mamah is part of a study focused on young people at high risk of schizophrenia. Mamah and his colleagues plan to characterize symptoms that can help diagnose schizophrenia early, as well as identify biomarkers in the blood and brain that may help predict risk.
Op-Ed: One huge cost of letting the expanded child tax credit die? Harm to developing brains (Links to an external site)
Drs. Schwarzlose and Luby weigh in on research which demonstrates how experiencing the adversity of poverty in childhood places children at risk for later hardships.
Tips to help parents, kids transition back to online learning (Links to an external site)
Dr. Eric Spiegel recommends getting back to good routines for parents and children — even if the routine of going to school is at home for the short time being.
Jake’s mice: Searching for answers to the puzzle of autism (Links to an external site)
Scientists at Washington University bred mice and grew stem cells derived from a research participant’s blood to study and find ways to treat his rare disorder – and look for answers to the larger puzzle of autism.
Prenatal, early-life influences on child brain development focus of new study (Links to an external site)
Dr. Cynthia Rogers at WUSM, along with scientists at 24 other sites around the country to conduct a comprehensive study aimed at understanding how prenatal factors and early life experiences influence brain development and behavior in infants and young children.
New study examines effects of divorce on children as separation rates rise amid COVID-19 pandemic (Links to an external site)
Dr. Susan Perlman’s Child Affect and Resilience to Experiences study marks the fist study to look at changes in the brain and biological system of children experiencing parental divorce, separation or conflict.
Antidepressant may prevent severe COVID-19, follow-up study indicates (Links to an external site)
Clinical trial conducted in Brazil confirms results from the first trial of fluvoxamine for COVID-19, which was launched in early 2020 and led by Angela Reiersen, MD and Eric J. Lenze, MD
Cheap, generic anti-depressant may reduce severe Covid-19 disease, study finds (Links to an external site)
Dr. Angela Reiersen comments on generically available anti-depressant which may reduce the risk of severe Covid-19 disease by close to a third in people at high risk,
Podcast: Remaining resilient while the pandemic drags on (Links to an external site)
Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses on this episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ how children and adults remain resilient despite the isolation and stresses of the pandemic.
Lenze’s EleVATE to receive Generate Health’s Standing Up for Black Mothers and Babies Award (Links to an external site)
Dr. Shannon Lenze’s EleVATE study on an equitable model of prenatal care, including behavioral health skills building and which is imbued with trauma informed care and anti-racism principles, to receive honor from Generate Health
The Cannabis Question: A PBS NOVA Investigation (Links to an external site)
Dr. Cynthia Rogers’ prenatal cannabis study is featured at the 30min mark of PBS video. As state-legalized cannabis spreads, NOVA investigates the latest scientific evidence for its potential benefits and risks, and how criminalization has disproportionately harmed communities of color.
NOVA | The Cannabis Question | Season 48 | Episode 11 | PBS
Achilefu, Luby elected to National Academy of Medicine (Links to an external site)
Membership is one of highest U.S. honors in health, medicine
Rogers, Spiegel named to Academy of Educators Honor Roll
Cynthia Rogers and Eric Spiegel have been named to the Academy of Educators’ Honor Roll, an award which recognizes faculty who have made outstanding contributions to education at the School of Medicine in the domains of advising and mentorship, direct teaching, curricular and instructional design, assessment, educational scholarship, or educational leadership. The Academy of Educators at Washington University School of Medicine is an institutional collaboration of educators who together foster a culture of educational excellence and an institutionally valued community of leaders in health science education. They are a service-based Academy with a selective membership process held every spring. The Academy sponsors several faculty development programs for educators, runs a small grants program to support educational scholarship, provides advocacy for education in the promotions process, and organizes events and programs which support educators. Membership is open faculty from all disciplines from the Washington University School of Medicine.
Preventing abuse by integrating sexual health into your practice (Links to an external site)
Family physicians have many health priorities to address with patients and families in every well-visit (page 14-15). While some physicians incorporate age-appropriate conversations about sexuality and development into pediatric well-visits, there is evidence these conversations should be happening more – especially as these conversations have been linked to preventing childhood sexual abuse.
Dr. Daniel Mamah named Excellence in Mental Health Awardee (Links to an external site)
Psychosis is a symptom of psychiatric illnesses including schizophrenia and some forms of bipolar disorder. These illnesses affect an estimated 3% of the U.S. population.
Dr. Mamah announced the 2021 recipient of the Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health Award (Links to an external site)
The St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund honors a mental healthcare professional each year who has made significant contributions in the field of behavioral health.
Podcast: Pandemic contributing to uptick of mental health problems in kids (Links to an external site)
This episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ details how children, particularly those with special needs, have been affected by behavioral and emotional turmoil caused by COVID-19
Fluvoxamine: Finding a possible early treatment for COVID-19 in a 40-year old antidepressant (Links to an external site)
What to Do if a Young Child Expresses Dark Thoughts (Links to an external site)
When the scariest parenting moment happened, I didn’t know where to turn. After months of talking with experts, we’re on the path to healing.
Fluvoxamine may prevent serious illness in COVID-19 patients (Links to an external site)
Antidepressant drug repurposed for patients with coronavirus infection
Dr. Joan Luby: Ruane Prize Recipient from Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (Links to an external site)
A virtual lecture from her will be available on 10/30: How Early Childhood Experiences Shape Brain Development and Influence Mental and Physical Health Trajectories
STLCH Earns LGBTQ “Top Performer” Designation (Links to an external site)
The designation was made by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index Measure
Inaugural recipient of The brAvery Foundation award announced (Links to an external site)
The Division of Child Psychiatry is proud to announce Simona Sarafinovska as the inaugural recipient of The brAvery Foundation award, designed for “an exceptional medical student or resident who has demonstrated his/her commitment to a career in child and adolescent psychiatry.”
Improving access to care for African-American children with autism (Links to an external site)
Washington University partners with Steward Family Foundation on study
College students access eating disorders therapy via phone app (Links to an external site)
Multi-university study shows app can help students reduce symptoms, ease depression