Pediatricians Screen for Mental Health and Wellness
Mental health in children is just as important as their good physical health. It can be hard to tell whether a child is struggling from typical behavioral challenges as part of growing up, or suffering from heightened levels of anxiety or depression.
Pediatricians have deep experience with monitoring behavioral milestones and regularly screen for mental health and wellness during annual well exams. We’re committed to our patients’ overall wellbeing and want to hear from you if there are any concerns.
Behavioral Health Assessments
If your child or teen is having trouble at home or school, not getting along well with others, experiencing mental health challenges, or facing big life changes, we can help! Through assessment and brief, solution-focused interventions, we offer families the tools and support they need to manage common childhood problems, like anxiety, depression, behavior challenges, and other concerns. Call 833-PDX-KIDS.
Our Team
In addition to your primary care medical team, Metropolitan Pediatrics has dedicated behavioral health clinicians within each clinic. All of us work together to help children, adolescents, and families feel and live better. Although we have different roles, we function as one care team, committed to meeting your family’s physical, emotional, social, and behavioral needs throughout all our locations in Oregon.
Behavioral Health Services
Mental Wellness Concerns We Address
We commonly provide consultation for the following:
- Academic concerns
- Anxiety disorders
- Behavior concerns
- Depression
- Developmental disorders
- Nutritional insecurity
- Parenting challenges
- Stressful life changes and trauma
Behavioral Health Services
Depending on the unique needs of each patient and family, our behavioral health clinicians may provide:
- Consultation
- Brief, solution-focused therapy
- Guidance and support for parents
- Connection to community support programs
Family Resources and Support
As behavioral health clinicians, we are happy to offer assistance and confidential support to improve your family’s well-being, including:
- Connection to resources for basic needs (e.g., affordable housing, utilities, transportation)
- Health system advocacy
- Information on how to apply for insurance and other benefits
- Medical equipment
- Special education advocacy
With the support and guidance of our integrated care team, families learn how to cope with stress, solve problems, make decisions, and overcome challenges. No matter the struggle, we’ll come up with a solution and treatment plan, while connecting your family with people, places, and programs that can help.
If you feel that behavioral health services may benefit your child or family members, please talk with your pediatrician during your next visit to one of our clinics.
We’ll work together to ensure your family is resilient, meeting the challenges and growing pains of childhood and adolescence in a safe environment.
Healthy Minds = Healthy Bodies
Pediatric Mental Health Resources
Watch Angst at Home, Presented by Metropolitan Pediatrics
iNDIEFLIX Education has sparked a global conversation about anxiety through screenings of its documentary, Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety. We’d love to welcome you into the conversation. Reserve your tickets for Angst at Home, presented by Metropolitan Pediatrics. Patients (ages 10+) and their family members are invited to watch the film at home for free, with on-demand access for up to two viewing sessions.
Recommended Books
Books for Parents
- Beyond Discipline: Parenting That Lasts a Lifetime, by Edward R. Christophersen
- Freeing Your Child From Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries, and Phobias, by Tamar Chansky
- Incredible Years: A Troubleshooting Guide for Parents of Children Aged 3-8 Years, by Carolyn Webster-Stratton
- Parenting That Works: Building Skills That Last a Lifetime, by Edward R. Christophersen and Susan L. Mortweet
- Parenting the Strong-Willed Child, by Rex L. Forehand and Nicholas Long
- Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic, by Mary S. Kurcinka
- Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook, by Mary S. Kurcinka
- SOS! Help for Parents: A Practical Guide for Handling Common Everyday Behavior Problems, by Lynn Clarke
- The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children, by Ross W. Greene
- A Volcano in My Tummy: Helping Children to Handle Anger, by Warwick Pudney and Elaine Whitehouse
- Your Defiant Child: 8 Steps to Better Behavior, by Russell Barkley and Christine Benton
Books for Kids
- The Berenstain Bears Learn about Strangers, by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- Tobin Learns to Make Friends, by Diane Murrell
Books for Teens
Support Resources
- Anxiety in Children (Anxiety Canada)
- Choosing a Preschool or Childcare Center
- Developmental Milestones (CDC)
- HealthyChildren.org (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- National Child Stress Traumatic Network
- Parenting (American Psychological Association)
- Printable Behavior Charts
- Project BeHAVE: Video Series on Managing Young Children’s Behavior
- Psychology of Spanking
- Spectrum Life Magazine
- Traumatic Experiences (Sesame Street)
Cool Apps
Most of these apps cost money, but you can download several basic relaxation and meditation apps for free!
- 3D Brain helps explain everything from executive functioning to trauma.
- Apple devices: Download on the App Store
- DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach teaches teens and adults some fundamental skills to help with emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and fostering healthier social relationships.
- Apple devices: Download on the App Store
- Simply Being – Guided Meditation for Relaxation and Presence is a decent and fairly inexpensive mindfulness-based app.
- Apple devices: Download on the App Store
- Android devices: Get it on Google Play
- Relax and Sleep Well Hypnosis guides users through several relaxation exercises.
- Apple devices: Download on the App Store
- Android devices: Get it on Google Play
Teacher Vanderbilt Forms
The Teacher Vanderbilt is a standardized tool used to screen for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children ages 6-12. It is completed by the child’s teacher and asks about the child’s behavior in the classroom, including their ability to pay attention, stay on task, and control their impulses. If you are concerned about your child’s behavior, talk to your medical provider. They can help you determine if your child should be evaluated for ADHD.
