March 13, 2025

Making Mental Health More Accessible

Since integrating mental health into pediatric care in 2020, Rady Children’s has observed a 69% decrease in depression and a 68% decrease in anxiety among participating children.

Behavioral Health
November 1, 2022

The Perils of Perfection – Making Holidays Less Stressful

It’s right around the corner! The holiday season. This time of year can really dial up the pressure on already overextended parents. The urge to provide your family with a “perfect” holiday can wreak havoc on your well-being while entertaining, travel and gifting can also do a number on the wallet. “Balancing the excitement and…

Behavioral Health
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May 3, 2022

An Informative Q&A with Dr. Ben Maxwell on Mental Health

To kick off #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, Dr. Ben Maxwell, medical director of inpatient psychiatry and interim director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services at Rady Children’s, participated in San Diego Business Journal’s Healthcare Roundtable: An Informative Q&A With the Region’s Top Behavioral Health Professionals. How is your organization addressing mental health in the community? Over the past…

Behavioral Health
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April 25, 2022

Screen-Time Reset

It’s time to get your child back on track It’s no surprise to learn that screen time has increased as a result of the pandemic. A UC San Francisco– led study quantified the rise, finding that among 12- and 13-year-olds, recreational screen time has doubled, from an average of 3.8 hours a day before the…

Behavioral Health
April 25, 2022

Philanthropy Drives the Mission of Rady Children’s Hospital

Behavioral health and other services are all made possible by donor support If you ask local parents Andrew and Michelle about their experience with one of Rady Children’s behavioral health programs, they’ll tell you how thankful they are to have had support during such a challenging time. The parents brought their 14-year-old daughter Emily (names changed…

Behavioral Health
July 9, 2021

The New Back-to-School Anxiety

Back-to-school season can always feel a bit uncertain, but this year, kids and teens are facing a unique set of circumstances as many return to in-person learning for the first time since March 2020. “The majority of children have been expressing concerns about returning to school, whether it’s minor worry or more significant and impairing,”…

Behavioral Health
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December 10, 2020

How Gratitude Can Influence Kids’ Well-Being

Even if our lives are largely fulfilling, it’s not unusual to have moments where it’s tough to feel that way — and the same goes for kids, too. However, studies show that expressing gratitude can have benefits such as supporting physical and mental well-being, boosting self-esteem, and enhancing sleep quality; all of which contribute to…

Behavioral Health
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May 29, 2020

Take the Compassion, Connection and Control Challenge

by Desiree Shapiro, MD  COVID-19 has affected all of our lives and challenged us in various ways. How do we support one another and cultivate our resilience amidst the chaos? Here are three C’s to consider incorporating into your daily routine and sharing with your children and family today. Compassion This is a time to…

Behavioral Health
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May 15, 2020

Supporting Whole-Family Mental Health During COVID-19

Whether you’re 5, 35 or 95, sheltering in place and social distancing can be challenging. With consistent feelings of uncertainty, interruptions to routines and activities, and limitations on seeing friends and family, it’s no wonder reports of effects on mental well-being are on the rise. Recent surveys indicated young adults are feeling more anxious and…

Behavioral Health
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October 9, 2019

How Routine Depression Screenings Can Help Protect Kids

At Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, we believe in managing care for the whole child, which includes both their physical and mental health. While you can often see when children are suffering from an injury or illness, the signs of a serious mental health condition are often more difficult to pinpoint — especially in kids and…

Behavioral Health
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April 9, 2019

What’s Now and Next in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research?

Between 2000 and 2014, the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States more than doubled, from approximately one in 150 to approximately one in 59[1]. While it’s difficult to say whether this is due to a true increase in incidence, to heightened awareness and more frequent assessments, or a…

Behavioral Health, Research and Innovation
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February 8, 2019

Bad Romance: Raising Awareness of Abuse in Teen Relationships

While most romantic relationships forged in teenage years don’t last forever, they can typically be looked back on for fond memories, lessons learned … or at least a good-natured eye roll. But the American Psychological Association (APA) reports that for more than 10 percent of high school students, young love includes physical, verbal or emotional…

Behavioral Health, Safety
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January 21, 2019

Drugs and Alcohol: Know the Facts

By the time they reach their junior year of high school, about 52 percent of kids in California have had an alcoholic drink at least once, while 43.5 percent, 40 percent, 22 percent and 6 percent have gotten high at least once using cold or cough medicine, marijuana, prescription pain medicine, and cocaine or amphetamines,…

Behavioral Health, Safety
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November 5, 2018

Beating Up Bullying

In recent years, bullying has become increasingly recognized as a widespread and common issue for young people. And it’s not just happening during those classically challenging middle school years. About 20 percent of high school students are bullied[1], while 90 percent of elementary school children say they’ve been bullied at least once by their peers[2].…

Behavioral Health
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