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Phones, pressure, and rising anxiety are not abstract trends. They’re showing up in real classrooms, in real kids, and in the adults trying to support them without burning out. I sit down with Dr. Dana Sarvey, a double board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist, to get clear on what’s happening to youth mental health and what educators can realistically do next.

We start with a practical question schools face all the time: what’s the difference between a child psychologist and a child psychiatrist? Dr. Sarvey breaks down training, roles, neuropsych testing, and prescribing, then connects it to what she’s seeing most often in her practice, especially depression, anxiety, panic, and OCD that frequently overlap. We also talk about seasonal mood changes and why some students look like different people once routines shift and the weather improves.

Then we take on the big, uncomfortable topics: the increase in psychotropic medication for kids and teens, what the numbers actually show, and why medication is only one slice of a much bigger treatment plan that includes therapy and strong environmental supports at school. We also dig into social media and adolescent mental health, including research on depression, self-perception, and academic impact, plus concrete guardrails and why delaying exposure can matter. Along the way, we reflect on the lifelong imprint teachers leave and how to help students regain perspective when perfectionism and competition take over.

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Thanks for listening!