From the PAL Psychiatrist
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Covid-19: Dealing with anxiety & how to help children and families during this time
One of PAL's psychiatrist, Dr. Joshua Stein, joined
Twin Cities Live this last week
with ways to recognize anxiety and how families can manage symptoms during this pandemic.
How to recognize different levels of anxiety for you and your family
- Children may present with body concerns, stomachaches, diarrhea, headaches, outbursts, meltdowns, challenging behaviors
- Monitor levels of irritability
- Excess alcohol consumption, changes with food consumption (eating more or eating less)
- sleep issues
How do you know if it’s time to be concerned and seek professional help?
- Warning signs: changes to sleep, decline in hygiene, profound irritability, “giving up”
- Thoughts of self-harm or
- Any suicidal thoughts of any kind
- New sever conflict in a partner/spousal relationship
**If you are asking yourself this question let a professional help determine this
**The recent changes to telehealth allow rapid in home access
How do you stay informed without getting overwhelmed?
- Choose a reputable news source
- Set limits for consuming information (e.g., only read/watch newsources for 30 minutes 2x a day)
- Focus on what you can control; i.e meals, exercise, next book
- It is easy to slip into catastrophic ideas. This will happen. If it is interfering with parenting, please reach out
What kind of toll can it take on you to “be strong” for your family and how can that be managed?
- Take time at the end of the day to “Emote/Sound Off” with another adult. i.e. partner/friend/coworker
- Commonly we end the day at the TV; Instead make time to share struggle/grief/loss/laugh
- Know that it is healthy and important for your kids to see you experiencing normal emotions sometimes
Is there anything you can do right now to help – unplugging from the news, taking a walk, etc.
- Connectedness is important
- Don’t’ just text. Facetime or call family, your children’s friends, teachers, coworkers
- Let your child be the expert and teach you; learn about “Sound Cloud”, “fortnite”; “Roblox”; Learn a “Tik Tok” dance
- Dance to “Koo Koo Kangaroo”, “Go Noodle” with your children. Have them share their favorite video
- Create! Art, dominoes, a positive yard sign, school pride, face paint
- It’s ok to relax rules. Many parents feel guilt about children and excess screen time. Let yourself off the hook
- Get outside: Use your firepit; create a scavenger hunt, Build a Scooter Ramp; Use those Amazon boxes to build a fort
- Cuddle
- Take 5 minute mini-breaks to pause, breathe and focus upon gratitude
If you are a patient or family member or friend in need of immediate assistance:
- Disaster Distress Helpline
- Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- Call 800-273-8255 or Chat with Lifeline
- Crisis Textline
- Text TALK to 741741
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Pediatric Psychiatric Med Management
& Trauma Care Trainings
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"I feel more confident prescribing antidepressants, and calling the PAL with complex patients." - pediatrician
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The PAL team and a Nationally Certified Trauma Therapist provide FREE and CME-approved trainings for primary care providers and healthcare professionals that are focused on pediatric mental health assessment and treatment.
PAL will present from 8am-12pm:
- Overview of the Psychiatric Consultation Service and the importance of early identification of mental illness
- Psychopharmacology (eg. Stimulants, SSRI's, SGA's, and Mood Stabilizers)
- Metabolic Monitoring
- Pharmacogenomics testing
- Community Resources, Fast-TrackerMN.org, and collaborative care models
Trauma Care therapist and trainer will present from 1-5pm:
- Psychotherapeutic modalities with a particular focus on evidence-based practices
- Appropriate screening, referral and treatment of traumatic stress in children and youth
- Ensuring adequate assessment and the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in children and youth (e.g., differential diagnosis, alternatives to pharmaceutical treatments, etc.)
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Adam Klapperich, DO
Dr. Klapperich is a board certified child/adolescent and adult psychiatrist. He joined PrairieCare Medical Group in Edina in 2012. He has since worked in inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient settings at PrairieCare. Dr. Klapperich attended the University of South Dakota before graduating from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed psychiatric residency and child and adolescent psychiatric fellowship training at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Klapperich works with children and adolescents in the newly opened Maplewood location.
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Joshua Stein, MD
Dr. Stein is the clinical director and an attending clinician at the Brooklyn Park Partial Hospital Program (PHP) and operates a clinic out of the Brooklyn Park Medical Office Building. The clinic is used as a bridge for patient's leaving PHP until they can see their outpatient provider. The focus for care is not just on immediate obstacles and gains, but improving long term trajectory as well. As the president of the Minnesota Society for Child Adolescent Psychiatry he focuses on local and national advocacy for children's mental health with a goal to increase access to quality care.
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Fast-Tracker is Minnesota's free, easy-to-use tool designed to connect people with resources and services.
They connect individuals, families, mental health and substance use disorder providers, physicians, care coordinators, and others with a real-time, searchable directory of mental health and substance use disorder resources and their availability within Minnesota.
For more information, call Fast-Tracker 651-426-6347 or visit their website:
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Mental Health Resources & Treatment Protocols for Primary Care
Child and adolescent psychiatric treatment protocols are available on our website under the Training & Education tab. The treatment protocols are specifically for medical providers, and the fact sheets are intended for caregivers/families.
Please click here to view the Child and Adolescent Treatment Protocol Guides!
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