Pediatric Partnerships So Every Child Can Thrive

Our Goal

The Mental Health, Earlier (MHE) Center aims to help pediatric clinicians identify "when to worry" about toddler emotions and behavior and "when to act" by identifying risk in routine primary care and connecting at risk toddlers and families to effective intervention.

The Center will: (a) train clinicians to communicate compassionately with families about their toddlers' mental health, (b) prepare an evidence-based, developmentally meaningful tool for use during routine check-ups, (c) create an open-access toolkit with interventions for pediatric clinicians and communities to promote early mental health as part of routine pediatric care, and (d) support future research and clinical leaders in early mental health promotion through training and funding for pilot studies.

The Challenge

Toddlerhood is a time of tremendous developmental growth. Some toddlers between 24- and 30-months may start to struggle with managing their emotions and behavior. Catching and preventing these early warning signs during well child visits is key to help prevent future mental health diagnoses. However, there are currently no standardized tools for pediatric providers to assess these behaviors, to determine risk, or to recommend timely caregiver support.

The Center is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Led by researchers from Northwestern University & University of Utah, the MHE Center collaborates with scientists nationwide (Lurie Chidren's Hospital, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Arizona State University, San Diego State University). Thus far our work is implemented in pediatric primary care sites at Nemours Children’s Health.

We prioritize partnerships with participating communities. The Center is guided by two advisory boards of caregivers (Caregiver Collaboratives) and clinicians (Community Practice Board).