Children's Mental Health

Hearing words like "disaster" or "explosive" when referring to storms can lead to hurricane anxiety, which can manifest physically or emotionally. A child psychologist offers insight for parents.

Depression and anxiety are leading causes of illness for teenagers. A group of Sarasota teens and young adults are helping their peers cope with these issues.

The program will allow graduates to become credentialed as school psychologists by the Florida Department of Education and become nationally certified school psychologists.

Young entrepreneurs and activists are worried about a proposal to ban social media for kids under 16 — even with consent of their parents. The state Senate may still make further changes to the bill.

Changes pertained to the criteria for determining which platforms would be subject to the restrictions. House Speaker Paul Renner has argued that social media is harming the mental health of children.

The Naples United Church of Christ hosted a youth mental health community forum for local health care players and mental health experts to show their progress toward a more well community.

Supporters say it will provide another resource for children during tumultuous times, while opponents say consequences include children receiving bad or unwanted spiritual advice.

An elementary school in Tampa, credits daily mindfulness lessons with helping students cope with stress — and turning the school around academically. The lessons are delivered through an app.

A new program aims to alert law enforcement that an occupant within a home or a vehicle has autism. Police departments have increased training on how to interact with individuals on the spectrum.

Even in states where laws protect minors’ access to gender-affirming care, malpractice insurance premiums are keeping small and independent clinics from treating patients.

A mental health service is expanding its operations to Polk and other Central Florida counties to address the growing concern of mental health crises in children.

Decades-long systemic shortcomings have left suicide among children ages 5 to 11 poorly tracked and addressed. Now, as rates appear to be rising, advocates are strengthening efforts to screen for problems and prevent deaths in younger children.