New, Free Resources Help Pediatricians Treat Mental Health Disorders

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Mental health concerns are increasingly becoming part of routine pediatric care, putting primary care clinicians on the front lines of the nation's youth mental health crisis.

In response, experts at The Kids Mental Health Foundation, founded by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, have developed new Primary Care Clinician Guides to help physicians address children's mental health needs.

This follows a 2025 study led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s behavioral health researchers and published in Clinical Pediatrics that illustrated the challenges facing primary care clinicians when it comes to children’s mental health. Researchers surveyed 148 pediatric primary care clinicians and found that ongoing training, collaborative infrastructure and team-based care as important supports for primary care clinicians. In addition, recent data from the National Institutes of Health shows that mental health disorders were diagnosed in nearly 13% of visits to health centers among children and adolescents ages 17 and younger in 2023.

“Mental health concerns are often first identified in the primary care setting. We created a tool that helps pediatricians start the conversation about a diagnosis and start taking steps toward treatment that same day,” said Ariana Hoet, PhD, executive clinical director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and a pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “In a world where many families have to wait years before they get help for their child, being able to have a discussion and start steps right away can be life changing.”

Based on the previous research and learnings from pediatric primary care psychologists at Nationwide Children's, The Kids Mental Health Foundation gathered insights to create resources on this national issue. They developed guides, which were tested with pediatricians, psychologists, and families. Guides were refined and retested over a two-year span to ensure they would be used in practice and recommended to other providers.

The guides include resources on:

• Anxiety: Tools for children ages 6 and older, including strategies for addressing avoidance, gradually facing anxiety triggers, challenging unhelpful thoughts and managing panic symptoms.
• Depression: Resources for children ages 12 and older that introduce strategies such as behavior activation and challenging unhelpful thoughts.
• ADHD: Parent-focused information covering behavioral therapy, medication and school support for children diagnosed with ADHD.

The resources are designed to complement pediatric care and can be downloaded at no cost or order up to 50 per pediatrician. Clinicians also have access to videos to demonstrate how to use the guides in practice. If pediatricians want more training in the topics of depression, anxiety, or ADHD they will have access to a Behavioral Health Learning Library, where they can receive continuing education.

“The goal isn't to turn every pediatrician into a mental health specialist,” said Dr. Hoet. “It is to make sure pediatricians have practical tools that can help them begin important steps toward treatment with families. When a concern comes up during a routine visit, having a trusted resource to share can give parents a place to start.”

Pediatricians and primary care providers can access or order free Primary Care Provider Guides. These resources are available at no cost thanks to support from Macy’s, The Beehive Alliance, Children’s Practicing Pediatricians, Dr. And Mr.s Bruce P. Meyer. Continued donor support will help expand access to these guides and equip even more healthcare providers nationwide with trusted mental health resources.

The Kids Mental Health Foundation is the leading organization promoting mental health for children in the United States. To achieve its vision to build a world where mental health is a vital part of every child’s upbringing, nearly 1,000 mental health professionals and researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in partnership with other trusted experts, provide real-world knowledge and expertise to power the Foundation’s free educational videos, guides and curriculum. To date, more than 33 million people have engaged with the Foundation’s materials, helping parents, educators and coaches be a guiding force for children all across the United States.