June 2026

June offers an opportunity to reflect on how identity, history, and connection shape emotional well‑being. In recognition of Pride Month and Juneteenth, we are reminded that feeling understood and supported is essential to health.

Roadmap’s work centers on creating space for meaningful conversations, strengthening trust, and integrating emotional health into care—because compassionate care begins with listening.

Roadmap Recognized Among Top Research Achievements

Highlighted in the Cincinnati Children’s 2025 Research Annual Report as one of Four Outstanding Research Achievements of 2025, the Roadmap for Emotional Health Project represents a major step forward in delivering whole-child care.

Roadmap equips pediatric teams to address emotional health within their existing care models—supporting meaningful conversations, early identification of needs, and connection to appropriate resources when additional support is needed.

At the core of Roadmap is the Normalize-Ask-Pause-Connect (NAPC) framework, a practical, clinician-friendly approach designed to:

Normalize emotional challenges as part of the care experience
Ask patients and families about their well-being
Pause to listen and understand
Connect them with appropriate support resources

"We can build trust by listening, by normalizing, by asking and by validating families’ emotional health concerns,” says Roadmap psychologist Lori Crosby, PsyD.

This model reshapes how pediatric healthcare systems nationwide support children and families—delivering more compassionate, coordinated care where it matters most.

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)

The ongoing national emergency in child and adolescent mental health highlights the urgent need for better emotional health support—especially for children with chronic medical conditions and their families, who often face unique and complex challenges.

A recent publication in Translational Behavioral Medicine, Increasing Capacity to Address Emotional Health for Children with Chronic Conditions and their Families: Roles for Pediatric Psychologists, co-authored by Becky Lois, PhD (NYU Langone), Jill Plevinsky, PhD (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), Erica Sood, PhD (Nemours Children’s) Carole Lannon, MD, MPH (Cincinnati Children’s), Laura E. Peterson, BSN, SM, and Lori Crosby, PsyD (Cincinnati Children’s), highlights how the Roadmap for Emotional Health Project is helping meet this need.

The Roadmap for Emotional Health Project was made possible with support from the American Board of Pediatrics Foundation and the David R. Clare and Margaret C. Clare Foundation.