Mission

The Emotional Health Committee has had a 30 year commitment to promoting the emotional health of children and teens in Maryland through a focus on fostering the skills of pediatric providers through statewide workshops, grand rounds and publications.

Vision

The current focus of the committee is on broadening the skills of pediatric practitioners in the area of Early Relational Health endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Through HRSA AAP Healthy Tomorrows grant funding, we are broadening the skills of clinicians inside and outside of Maryland in the areas of parent infant observation, heightening awareness of parental mental health challenges, trauma history and Social Determinants of Health. We are also enhancing the clinical skills of pediatric providers in the area of developmental coaching to help parents create Safe Stable Nurturing Relationships that are noted to improve the developmental and academic outcomes of children as well as foster mental and physical health throughout life.

Committee Chair

Ken Tellerman, MD, FAAP

Resources

• The AAP Policy Statement of 2021 on Toxic Stress highlights the importance of integrating Early Relational Health into pediatric practice. The TREE (Talk Read Engage Encourage) Program developed by the MDAAP provides a template for incorporating ERH into pediatric practice and is the basis of our ERH curriculum. 
• The BI-PED (Brief Interventions in Pediatrics) website  developed by the MDAAP is a resource filled with clinical non pharmacologic interventions for addressing behavior problems in young children as well as ADHD, anxiety and depression. It also provides tips on conducting a mental health assessment in children and adolescents and includes material on behavioral modification, brief solution focused interventions, cognitive behavioral interventions and motivational interviewing.