Not all studies are created equal — and in child psychiatry, the stakes of getting it wrong are high. Dr. Spielmans introduces the PICOT framework, exposes common sources of bias in clinical trials, and offers practical tools for vetting the research before it reaches your patients.

SSRIs are standard for pediatric OCD, but how much do they actually move the needle? An individual participant data meta-analysis puts a number on it, and the answer is more nuanced than the guidelines suggest. Baseline severity, it turns out, matters more than most clinicians realize.

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Genetic risk is real, but it’s not destiny. Dr. Besterman unpacks what heritability actually means in clinical practice, clarifies when genetic testing is and isn’t warranted, and offers concrete strategies for helping families move toward a more empowered understanding of their child’s risk.

Newer antipsychotics promise novel mechanisms and fewer metabolic headaches, but the pediatric data have not caught up with the enthusiasm. This update cuts through the excitement around lumateperone, xanomeline-trospium, and TAAR1 agonists, and offers a practical framework for deciding when, if ever, to venture beyond the tried-and-true SGAs.

Side effects are the most common reason kids stop antidepressants, yet most monitoring tools are too cumbersome for real-world visits. The FIBSER-C asks just three questions and takes under a minute. Could this be the side effect check-in your practice has been missing?

SSRIs are among the most prescribed medications in adolescents, but are we paying close enough attention to what they may be doing to pubertal growth? A prospective cohort study found dose-related reductions in height velocity, with changes in growth hormone signaling suggesting a possible biologic mechanism.

When family-based therapy stalls in adolescents with anorexia, what comes next? A retrospective matched-cohort study suggests that low-dose aripiprazole may loosen cognitive rigidity enough to get treatment moving again — with doses averaging under 3 mg/day and a surprisingly favorable side-effect profile.