Mental Health Practice Tools and Resources

Help to promote healthy mental development and address concerns of your patients with these practice tools and resources.

Readying the Practice

• American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement: “Mental Health Competencies for Pediatric Practice” (Pediatrics, November 2019). AAP policy identifying the competencies for pediatricians related to mental health care.
• Core Pediatric Mental Health Competencies 
• Pediatric Mental Health Competencies: A Detailed Outline for Use by Pediatric Educators 
• Mental Health Practice Readiness Inventory (Updated 2/2021). A tool to assess the extent to which a practice  promotes and supports various components related to mental health practice.
• Glossary of Mental Health and Substance Use Terms. A reference for key concepts and terms that are commonly used in the fields of mental health and substance use.
• Mom! Dad! Ask about my emotional development, too. Posters.
  Available in English and Spanish, these posters can be used to promote discussions with patients and families about healthy mental development as part of overall health.
  • Adolescent Boy, English
  • Adolescent Boy, Spanish
  • Young Girl, English 
  • Young Girl, Spanish 

Practice Workflow

• Algorithm: Integration of Mental Health Care Into Pediatric Practice (Updated 2/2021). Depicts a process by which mental health services can be woven into practice flow.

• Mental Health Tools for Pediatrics (Updated 2/2021). A compilation of tools that are potentially useful at each stage of a clinical process through which mental health content can be integrated into pediatric care. (Note: Inclusion of a tool in this list does not indicate endorsement by the American Academy of Pediatrics).

• Brief Mental Health Update (pdf). Offers several possible approaches for obtaining a mental health update.

Brief Interventions and Symptom-Based Care

• Common Factors Approach: HEL²P³ to Build a Better Alliance (Updated 2/2021). Foundational communication skills for building a therapeutic alliance that are components of effective interventions common to diverse therapies across multiple diagnoses.

• Common Elements Approaches: Brief Interventions for Common Pediatric Primary Care Problems (Updated 2/2021). Components of psychosocial therapies that apply to a group of related conditions.

• Symptoms and Signs Suggestive of Mental Health and Substance Use Concerns. A list of signs and symptoms by age that are suggestive of mental health and substance use concerns.

Effective Referrals

• Sources of Key Mental Health Services (Updated 2/2021). A list of key mental health specialty services and possible community resources that provide them.

• PracticeWise Evidence-Based Child and Adolescent Psychosocial Interventions​ (Updated 10/2022). Tool developed by PracticeWise intended to guide practitioners, educators, youths, and families in developing appropriate plans using psychosocial interventions.

• Evidence-Based Interventions for Children Younger Than 5 Years (Updated 2/2021). A reference that identifies evidence-based interventions for children under 5 in a variety of areas of need.

• Primary Care Referral and Feedback Form. This tool provides a template for referral to and feedback from a mental health specialist.

• HIPAA Privacy Rule and Provider to Provider Communication. This tool can help address common questions—and provide scenarios—about when it’s appropriate to share your patients’ or clients’ health information with other providers under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Family Handouts

The AAP has developed a number of handouts and resources to support families in managing mental health concerns or supporting healthy mental development. These include family handouts as well as Healthychildren.org articles.

Additional AAP Resources

• Pediatric Mental Health Minute Series 
• Promoting Telehealth 
• Screening Technical Assistance & Resource (STAR) Center 
• Substance Use and Prevention 
• Suicide Prevention 
• Trauma Informed Care 
• Report from the AAP Task Force on Mental Health (Pediatrics, 2010) This report highlights the findings from the AAP Task Force on Mental Health in 2010.

External Resources:

• A Guide to Psychopharmacology for Pediatricians (Center for Mental Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care at Johns Hopkins)
• Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Collaborative 
• Roadmap to Resilience, Emotional, and Mental Health project (American Board of Pediatrics Foundation)