Caring for Children and Adolescents with Depressive Disorders

Description

Children and adolescents commonly present to primary care with concerns that may reflect depressive disorders, yet symptoms can be subtle, overlap with physical complaints, and vary by developmental stage. This course equips pediatric clinicians with a practical, stepwise approach to identifying depression in youth, beginning with age-appropriate screening strategies, including suicide risk screening, then moving to interpretation of results in the context of clinical presentation, rapport-building, and family engagement.

Learners will also review evidence-informed early interventions and ongoing management in primary care, including safety planning, psychoeducation, treatment planning, coordination with schools and referral partners, and follow-up pathways. The course emphasizes actionable clinical workflows—what to do next after a positive screen, how to match initial care to severity and age, and when to initiate active monitoring, brief psychosocial strategies (including behavioral activation), or pharmacotherapy and specialty referral—so participants can provide timely, coordinated care that supports patients and families.

Learning Objectives:

Select age-appropriate depression screening approaches and tools for pediatric patients. 

Differentiate depressive disorders in children and adolescents and interpret screening results alongside clinical findings (including physical symptoms) to support diagnostic decision-making. 

Apply initial intervention steps for pediatric depressive disorders, including safety planning, psychoeducation, treatment planning, and coordination with families, schools, and referral partners. 

Develop an evidence-informed management plan for children and adolescents with depressive disorders, including active monitoring/brief psychosocial interventions, behavioral activation strategies, appropriate pharmacotherapy considerations, and follow-up/referral pathways. 

Course Details

• Start Date: November 2, 2026
• Online Access Expires: November 1, 2029
• Credit Expires: November 1, 2029
• Course ID: 62854

Acknowledgements

This project was made possible with the funding support of the Morgan Stanley Foundation and the Mental Wellness Foundation. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Morgan Stanley, the Morgan Stanley Foundation, and the Mental Wellness Foundation.

Faculty

• Amy Cheung, MD, FAAP
• Brian Pitts, MD, FAAP
• Michelle Curtin, DO, FAAP

Reviewer

• Janet Lee, MD, FAAP