Developmental and behavioral problems can be subtle and difficult to assess in children. They often emerge in the context of family life, and frequently go unrecognized or untreated during health encounters. An estimated 70% of children with significant developmental and behavioral problems are not identified before school entry.

Parenthood, like childhood, is a developmental process. Each well-child visit presents opportunities for providers to help educate parents about their child’s development and to support effective parenting skills through anticipatory guidance.

The HealthCheck Training & Resource Center addresses mental health in several ways:

• With a secreening service and assessment component of the health supervision section of HealthCheck visits
• With a module on developmental and behavioral mental health that addresses:
  • Ages and stages of development
  • Surveillance
  • Screening tools
  • Developmental checklists
  • The Bright Futures approach
  • Office practices
• With modules on Autism, Early Intervention, and Substance Use and Abuse

LOG-IN to access mental health training and resources

The Collaborative has also created the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Resource Guide for use by pediatric primary care providers in the Washington, DC area. This guide aims to provide a comprehensive listing of community behavioral health resources for children and adolescents in the District of Columbia.

LOCAL RESOURCES

DC MAP (mental health access in pediatrics) is a program aimed at improving mental health integration within pediatric primary care.

Staffed collaboratively by a team of mental health clinicians (psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and a care coordinator) from Children’s National Health System and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, the DC MAP team is excited to offer consultation and training to your practice to help you manage the mental health concerns of your patients and their families. The website offers links to consultation, referrals, education, and medication reviews.

The DC Collaborative for Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care has developed the Perinatal Mental Health Toolkit and Primer for Pediatric Primary Care Providers. Users will also want to download Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) Translated into Languages Other than English.

The DC-MD-VA (DMV) Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) Resource Guide. A result of an ongoing collaboration between the DMV PMH Resource Guide Team and the community-based network of Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) Professionals and Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) Survivors throughout DC, MD, and VA. 

The goal of the guide is to develop, disseminate, and maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date, regional directory of specialized mental health providers, support groups, advocacy organizations, and other relevant clinical resources pertaining to perinatal mental health.

This directory will assist healthcare providers, patients, and their families with obtaining specialized mental health evaluation and treatment during pregnancy and postpartum.