Mental & Emotional Health

An eating disorder is an intense focus on weight, appearance, and body image that causes abnormal eating patterns and changes in other behavior. Here's what you need to know about teens and eating disorders.

Depression is a mood disorder. This means that the condition affects your child's mood and behavior. No one is exactly sure what causes depression. It is known that depression is associated with changes in levels of certain chemicals in the brain. These chemicals affect the ability to feel and experience pleasure.

Anxiety is a normal part of life. But for some teens, anxiety can get so bad it causes problems in daily life. The good news is that anxiety can be treated to help relieve symptoms and help your teen feel better.

Your teen has recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness. A chronic illness can add issues and challenges for both you and your teen. But there are things you can do to help you and your child cope.

Anger, fear, separation anxiety, a sense of abandonment, self-blame, sadness and embarrassment are common reactions to divorce for most children.

Bullying can happen in school, on the playground - and now even on the Internet through social networking sites. Here are some warning signs to watch for, and information on how to help your child.

Learn how to care for your child after a visit for anxiety.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder. A child with bulimia overeats or binges uncontrollably. This overeating may be followed by self-induced throwing up (purging).

Cognitive development means the growth of a child's ability to think and reason. This growth happens differently from ages 6 to 12, and ages 12 to 18.

Bipolar disorder is a type of depression. A teen with bipolar disorder often has extreme mood swings. These mood swings go beyond the day's normal ups and downs.

Emotional regulation means controlling or influencing the way we express our emotions.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder. A child with OCD has obsessive thoughts that are not wanted. The thoughts are linked to fears, such as touching dirty objects.

A psychiatric evaluation looks at the child's behaviors, when those behaviors happen, and what impact those behaviors have on school, family, and other relationships.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental health problem. A child with GAD has a lot of worry and fear that seems to have no real cause.

A learning disorder is when a child has trouble learning in certain school subjects. Your child may have problems with reading, math, or writing. Here's what you need to know, and how to help.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness. It is a long-lasting and disabling problem of the brain. A child with this disorder has unusual behavior and strange feelings.

A child with SAD worries a lot about being apart from family members or other close people. The child has a fear of being lost from their family or of something bad occurring to a family member if he or she is not with the person.

Suicide is when a teen causes his or her own death on purpose. Before trying to take his or her own life, a teen may have thoughts of wanting to die. Read on to learn how to recognize the warning signs, and how to get your teen help.

Common symptoms of a potential emotional, behavioral, or developmental problem include poor grades in school, withdrawal from friends and family, and insomnia.

When your child becomes a teen, what they need from you changes in a big way. Teenagers want independence.

Bullying is very common. About 1 in 5 children and teens ages 12 to 18 report that they were bullied over the last 12 months.

Here's what you can do as a parent to stop the bullying.

Mental health conditions don't discriminate. They can affect anyone at any age—and when your child is the one diagnosed, it can bring up a lot of emotions.

Temper tantrums are a normal part of development. Young children don't have the same control over their emotions as older children and adults.