Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders

CO-CHAIRS

Leslie Miller, MD | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Sally Weinstein, PhD | University of Illinois at Chicago

WHY A TASK GROUP?

As pediatric mental health providers, we are passionate about caring for the mental health needs of children and adolescents. While we all know that children are not just small adults, they are often overlooked when it comes to research and clinical advancements. The goal of the Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders Task Group is to collaboratively work toward improving pediatric mental health through research, clinical initiatives, and advocacy.

CURRENT PROJECTS

In 2022, the CAMD Task Group, led by Rebekah Huber, PhD, applied for an NNDC Momentum Grant to fund a “Pilot Study to Examine the Utility and Feasibility of Implementing Brief Cognitive Assessment in Clinical Practice for Youth with Bipolar Disorder”. The grant was awarded, and the team has entered the planning stages of the project.
The Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders Task Group is wrapping up an NNDC Momentum Grant-funded project to identify parent, teen, and provider attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and clinical practices related to youth marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) use and to assess how these attitudes/beliefs are associated with youth marijuana use and provider treatment approach. Recruitment is ongoing and multiple manuscripts are anticipated to stem from this effort. Progress thus far has been shared at recent NNDC Annual Meetings:
- Hammond, C.J., Moon, Y.J., Fristad, M.A., Schneck, C.D., Sullivan, A.E., Batt, M.M., Ghaziuddin, N., Dopp, R., Leffler, J.M., Singh, M.K., Weinstein, S., Hulvershorn, L., & Miller, L. Similarities and differences in cannabis and cannabidiol related attitudes and behaviors between adolescents receiving mood disorder treatment in the US and their parents. [Poster Presentation]. NNDC Annual Conference 2022. tinyurl.com/4t3r8yc6
- Hammond, C.J., Moon, Y.J., Fristad, M.A., Kady, A., Schneck, C.D., Sullivan, A.E., Batt, M.M., Ghaziuddin, N., Leffler, J.M., Singh, M.K., Weinstein, S., Hulvershorn, L., & Miller, L. Impact of marijuana legislation on marijuana and cannabidiol related attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors among adolescents receiving mood disorder treatment in the United States. [Poster Presentation]. NNDC Annual Conference 2021. https://tinyurl.com/56w6v3ss
- Hammond, C.J, Fristad, M.A., Kady, A., Schneck, C.D., Ghaziuddin, N., Leffler, J., Singh, M.K., Weinstein, S., Hulvershorn, L., & Miller, L. Marijuana and cannabidiol attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors among youth receiving mood disorder treatment and their parents: Preliminary results from the MABS study. [Poster Presentation]. Virtual NNDC Annual Conference 2020. https://tinyurl.com/4sn8k63r
Several Task Group members have also contributed manuscripts for an upcoming special issue of the journal Adolescent Psychiatry that will focus on the use of CBD products for psychiatric treatment in children and adolescents.

PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS

On March 11, 2021, the Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders Task Group hosted a CBD Summit to discuss concerns regarding the use of cannabis-derived products in youth with mental health disorders. This meeting was facilitated by Leslie Hulvershorn, MD and Chris Hammond, MD, PhD. Presentations included:
- State of Research Regarding Use of CBD in Youth with Mental Health Disorders: What do we know? What don’t we know?
  - Kathleen Brady, MD, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, Vice President for Research, Medical University of South Carolina
- Current Regulatory Environment for CBD and Related Products: Deficiencies and Opportunities.
  - Lowell Schiller, JD, Former Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy, FDA, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Aetion & Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH, Senior Consultant, and Research Scientist, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington
In 2019, the Child & Adolescent Mood Disorders Task Group received funding via the NNDC Momentum Grant mechanism to summarize the feasibility and acceptance of using a Mood Outcomes assessment battery in youth. The battery included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item Depression Scale (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), and Altman Self-Rated Mania Scale (ASRM). This work led to an internal NNDC report, as well as the following publication and presentation:
- Fristad, M. A., Bell, Z., Dopp, R., Ghaziuddin, N., Leffler, J., Schneck, C. D., Singh, M. K., Sullivan, A., Weinstein, S., & Miller, L. (2021). Letter to Editor: Measurement-Based Care in Youth—Feasibility and Acceptance. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 31(3), 233–234. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2020.0152
- Schneck, C. & Miller, L. Why do Youth Interventions Matter for All Patient Care? [Poster Presentation]. NNDC Annual Conference 2019.