The MentalSpace School Podcast

If a teen in your life has experienced trauma — and is now angry, withdrawn, sleepless, or 'not the same person' — please don't write it off as 'just being a teenager.' Adolescent PTSD is real and highly treatable with TF-CBT, EMDR, and CPT, delivered by a licensed clinician. The biggest barrier mos Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Complian...

A common myth we want to retire: 'They'll grow out of it.' Separation Anxiety Disorder doesn't always resolve on its own — and untreated, it often becomes panic disorder, school refusal, or social anxiety in later years. Look for: clinginess past developmental expectations, nightmares about being ap Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Gu...

When a child cries every morning before school — or vomits, or 'can't breathe,' or hides — please know: this is rarely manipulation. It's School Refusal Anxiety, and it's one of the most treatable childhood anxiety presentations IF addressed early. Graduated exposure, CBT, and tight coordination bet Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Complian...

Parents — if your teen has been 'not themselves' for more than two weeks, please don't dismiss it as a phase. Adolescent Major Depression often shows up as irritability, withdrawal, sleep changes, or sudden academic decline. It is treatable. CBT, IPT-A, and (when a licensed clinician determines it's Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Gu...

Quick question for educators: when you picture an ADHD student, do you picture the kid bouncing in their chair? You might be missing half of them. Pediatric ADHD — Inattentive Type rarely looks 'hyper.' It looks like daydreaming through math, half-finished worksheets, and lost homework. Without diag Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #Menta...

Childhood Generalized Anxiety Disorder is often missed because anxious kids tend to be 'the good ones' — quiet, compliant, hyper-prepared. But look closer: morning stomachaches, perfectionism that paralyzes, sleep that won't settle. Research shows CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is first-line tre Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #...

Friday evening education — Adolescent Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is a serious medical condition, not 'experimentation gone wrong.' The DSM-5 criteria are the same as adults: 2+ of 11 signs over 12 months — using more or longer than intended, unsuccessful attempts to cut back, time spent on substan Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #Menta...

Midday education — Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) are a category of conditions that includes Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) and Excoriation Disorder (skin-picking disorder). Both involve recurrent body-focused behaviors that result in damage (hair loss, skin lesions), despite re Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

Friday morning education for parents, educators, and pediatricians — Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is intentional self-inflicted injury without suicidal intent. The DSM-5 lists NSSI as a 'condition for further study': self-injury on 5+ days in the past year, with at least one of the goals being re Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #Menta...

Thursday evening education — Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is a framework from the landmark CDC-Kaiser study. The 10 ACE categories include: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, parental divorce/separation, parental mental illness, parental subst Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

Midday education — Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) was added to the DSM-5 in 2013 specifically to address the over-diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder in chronically irritable kids. Clinically, DMDD is severe, recurrent temper outbursts (verbal AND/OR behavioral, grossly disproport Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

Thursday morning education — Pediatric ADHD comes in three presentations, and the Combined Type (both inattention AND hyperactivity/impulsivity) is what most people picture as 'classic ADHD.' DSM criteria: 6+ inattention symptoms (doesn't pay close attention to details, difficulty sustaining attenti Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #...

Tuesday evening explainer — Pediatric OCD is much more than 'a tidy kid' or 'germaphobe.' Clinically, OCD involves obsessions (intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause significant distress) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental acts done to reduce that distress) — takin Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Gu...

Midday education for parents and educators — Eating Disorders in teens are serious and far more common than people realize. The major DSM categories: Anorexia Nervosa (restriction of energy intake leading to significantly low weight, intense fear of weight gain, distorted body image — even when emac Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

Tuesday morning education for parents, educators, and youth-serving professionals — Conduct Disorder (CD) is a more severe pattern than ODD and represents one of the higher-risk childhood/adolescent diagnoses. Clinically, CD is a repetitive, persistent pattern of behavior violating others' basic rig Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpac...

Monday evening explainer — Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a real clinical diagnosis, but it's also one of the most over-applied labels for kids who are actually struggling with something else. Clinically, ODD is a pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictive Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpac...

Midday education — Selective Mutism (SM) is one of the most misunderstood childhood anxiety disorders. It's NOT shyness, defiance, or 'autism.' Clinically, SM is consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (usually school, with peers, or with extended family) despite speaking comfortab Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #...

Monday morning education for parents and educators — Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition with two core feature sets: (1) persistent differences in social communication and interaction — challenges with reciprocal conversation, reading nonverbal cues, building peer relationshi Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

The Unstoppable Strength of School Moms Tonight, we honor the unstoppable strength of school moms. 💛 The moms who fight for their child's spot. The moms who advocate when no one else will. The moms at every recital, conference, and game — even when they're exhausted. We see you. We thank you. Hap Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalS...

Thank You to Every Mom Today Today, we want to speak directly to every mom who showed up for her kids — AGAIN. 💛 Single moms. Working moms. Grandmothers raising grandchildren. Stepmoms. Aunties. Foster moms. The strength you bring ripples through every classroom in Georgia. Thank you. Happy Mothe Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceSchool...

Behind Every Thriving Student Behind every thriving student is a mother whose strength made it possible. 💛 The lunch packed. The form signed. The worry comforted. The kid who made it to school — because Mom showed up again. Happy Mother's Day to every mom raising a Georgia student. From MentalSpa Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceS...

Saturday evening real talk for parents — Adolescent Major Depression often does NOT present as a sad, withdrawn teenager. More often, it looks like: persistent irritability (the most common mood symptom in teens, vs. sadness in adults), withdrawal from friends, declining grades, sleep changes (sleep Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #MentalSpaceScho...

Midday education for parents and teachers — Pediatric ADHD comes in three presentations, but the Inattentive Type is the one most often missed, especially in girls and 'quiet' kids who never disrupt class. The DSM signs of inattentive ADHD include: difficulty sustaining attention, making careless mi Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #Menta...

Saturday morning explainer for parents and teachers: Childhood Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) often shows up not as 'worry' but as a child who frequently complains of stomachaches before school, who needs constant reassurance, who is a perfectionist about homework, who can't concentrate in class Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide #...

A crisis rarely arrives without warning. Looking back, families and educators almost always recognize that there were weeks — sometimes months — of quiet signals before the moment of crisis. Withdrawal. Sleep changes. Mood shifts. A flat "I'm fine" that didn't sound fine. The window before crisis Generated from MentalSpace School: Georgia K-12 Mental Health and Compliance Guide...