Workshop Description
Rates of depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and suicide among teenagers and young adults have skyrocketed, based on the trending data from the CDC (2011-2021), a December 2021 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, and an October 2021 declaration from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrics, and the Children’s Hospital Association. In this presentation, Gene Beresin, MD, MA will address the vital role of public education in mental health for prevention and early intervention, providing practical guidance on awareness surrounding stress, anxiety, depression, and suicide. In addition, he will discuss 1) what to look for – recognizing signs of stress, anxiety, depression, and other concerns; 2) when to worry – identifying when symptoms have reached the threshold warranting additional support and intervention; and 3) what to do – where to seek help and what help is appropriate. Dr. Beresin’s discussion will also focus on the critical role of resilience, including how to foster resilience and how to support children, especially with the residual effects of the pandemic combined with other stress factors impacting children and teens.

Learning Objectives
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
 Appreciate the impact of anxiety disorders and depression on youth.
 Identify the key elements in fostering wellbeing and building resilience in children, teens, and
young adults.
 Differentiate stress from anxiety disorders.
 Identify signs of depression and understand the risk factors for youth suicide.
 Understand an approach to young people whom they think may be suicidal.
 Describe the ways multi-media public mental health education serves to teach educators and
other caregivers what to look for, when to worry, and what to do.

Presenter Biography
Gene Beresin, MD, MA is Executive Director of the new Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Director of Education for the Division of Professional and Public Education in the MGH Department of Psychiatry, and a full Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the Director of the Elizabeth Thatcher Acampora Endowment, an outreach program to meet the needs of underserved youth and families in three community settings. As a clinical educator, Dr. Beresin served as Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital from 1985-2013. He received an M.A. in Philosophy and M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Beresin has served as a leader of many national organizations and has won a number of local and national teaching awards. He is currently serving a term as President of the American College of Psychiatrists, and previously served as President of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. His past awards include the Vestermark Award for Outstanding Teaching by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health; the Parker Palmer

Courage to Teach Award, by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education; and The Nancy Roeske Award for Outstanding Medical Student Teaching by the APA. He is Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Fellow and President-elect of the American College of Psychiatrists. He was creator and central director, now site director at MGH, of the required Harvard Medical School two year required curriculum, The Developing Physician that focuses on reflective practice, ethics, professionalism and the patient-doctor relationship. Dr. Beresin is also Deputy Editor and Media Editor for Academic Psychiatry and has published numerous papers and chapters in a wide variety of topics, including medical education, eating disorders, personality disorders and mental health and the media.

Dr. Beresin has consulted to a variety of television shows including ER and Law and Order SVU. He was Consultant to the Emmy Award winning HBO children’s specials, Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales (2000), Through a Child’s Eyes: September 11, 2001 (2003) and Classical Baby (2005). He co- produced a Parenting Resource website for abcnews.com. He was script consultant, expert, and actor in Brains on Trial, a PBS broadcast ( 2013).