Introducing Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Behavioral Health Learning Library

Access the free educational resource for health care providers interested in evidence-based courses.

Jennifer B. Reese, PsyD, is a clinical child psychologist at Nationwide Children’s and manages behavioral health and training at Big Lots Behavioral Health Services. She is concerned about the national shortage of experienced behavioral health support for children.

“Because there is a shortage of trained mental health providers, we recognize that primary care providers are the first (and often only) lines of support for kids experiencing mental health issues,” she says.

To assist them and other healthcare providers supporting this population, Dr. Reese’s team created the Behavioral Health Learning Library, a resource built to provide critical and timely evidence-based research and education on children’s behavioral and mental health.

“Through this initiative, we’re doing something no one else does – giving away critical education from subject matter experts on a wide array of pediatric behavioral and mental health topics for free,” Dr. Reese says.

The Focus Is on Kids

Researchers at Nationwide Children’s are committed to identifying new approaches for preventing, diagnosing, and treating children’s emotional, behavioral, and developmental concerns. However, the research Nationwide Children’s and other organizations complete is not always readily available to those who need it most. Dr. Reese intends for the Library to provide that content to pediatricians and other professionals who treat children and their families daily.

“Evidence-based content focused on the needs of children is not easily accessible, even for medical professionals,” explains Dr. Reese. “The goal of the Library is to be a central hub for education and credible information on various diagnoses related to mental health.”

Continuing Education Credits Are Available

The Behavioral Health Learning Library is a unique one-stop shop for on-demand behavioral health education. Healthcare professionals of all kinds can learn applicable skills based on their profession and earn continuing education credits along the way. Courses are currently offered for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, dentists, nurses, social workers, and more.

Some of the themes explored in the modules include:

• Social Media and Kids
• Complex ADHD in Children and Adolescents
• Tips and Tools for Busy Providers After a Positive Suicide Screen
• Providing Trauma-Informed Care

“The interactive modules include videos, quizzes, and exercises rooted in adult learning principles. The goal is to help providers deepen their knowledge of a particular subject,” Dr. Reese says. “The Library also features webinars that give providers access to on-demand videos.”

Materials for Parents and Care Givers

There are links to clinical behavioral health tools for primary care providers and patient educational resources on the Library website. For example, the Library’s homepage links to the consumer-facing On Our Sleeves Movement For Children’s Mental Health website. These resources can help parents, educators, coaches, and more learn about mental health and wellness promotion strategies. It also links to Bloom, an online curriculum designed to help working parents support their kids’ mental health needs. For clinicians, there are resources for prescribing medications for ADHD, anxiety, and depression disorders in children.

Dr. Reese updates the content regularly with the help of Shelby Snodgrass, MPH, senior learning consultant in Behavioral Education at Nationwide Children’s. They also add new links to other research sources as they become available.

“We want to make sure that providers have the most up-to-date knowledge and are better equipped to respond to the needs of their patients and families,” Dr. Reese says.