Mental Health is Health
AAP has adopted the Healthy Mental Development framework to shift the way we think and talk about mental health: mental health is not only a diagnosis or an illness to be treated. Rather, healthy mental development is a lifelong process impacted by biology, relationships, and environment. Strong relationships between children and caregivers can promote positive mental outcomes and buffer the impacts of adversity and trauma.
Pediatricians are well-positioned to support the healthy mental and emotional development of children and families in practice.
What is Healthy Mental Development?
Healthy mental development is the developmental process of building social, emotional, and behavioral wellness across the lifespan and inclusive of the full spectrum of care.
Promotion of mental and emotional wellness.
Prevention efforts (including clinical preventive services and broader efforts to address the environmental factors that impact healthy mental development)
Early identification and intervention for mental health symptoms and conditions.
Treatment, referral and management/co-management of mental health symptoms and conditions.
What's New in Healthy Mental Development
The Power of Relationships in Pediatric Care: Uncovering Trauma and Adversity
In this video, Khadijia Tribié Reid, MD, MPH, FAAP, tells the story of one family’s visit that revealed some personal trauma.
YouTube Video
|January 3, 2024
Healthy Mental Development Key Components
AAP Healthy Mental Development Programs
Explore AAP programs for resources to support healthy mental development in pediatric settings.
Last Updated
12/05/2024
Source
American Academy of Pediatrics