Articles by Khadijah Booth Watkins and Gene Beresin

September 12, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Your Lived Experience and Advocacy: Transforming Mental Health for Youth

What if our stories held more power than we know? What if our lived experience could help others who might be struggling? What if our experiences could help others gain a greater understanding of youth mental health? When a young person struggles with their mental health, there can be a profound effect on their friendships, […]

September 10, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Facing the Loss of a Child to Suicide – A Father’s Account

If you think your child is thinking about suicide, take them seriously, stay with them, help them remove lethal means, and Call 988 | National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Today is World Suicide Prevention Day: a time to bring global attention to the urgent public health crisis of suicide and to reaffirm our collective commitment to prevention through […]

August 15, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

ADHD: The Transition to Adulthood

Welcome back to a new season of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple! For our back-to-school season opener, we are joined by Dr. Tony Rostain for a deep dive on how ADHD changes from teen to adulthood. They break down the importance of early intervention, the benefits of school accommodations, and why anxiety and […]

June 18, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Chasing Sunshine: Teen Loneliness and Tips for Beating the Summer Blues

While the summer is usually painted as time of fun, freedom, and relaxation, for many teens it can feel like the exact opposite — disconnected, isolating, and emotionally heavy. Without the daily structure of school or regular peer interaction, teens can find themselves feeling invisible, left out, or unsure of where they belong. In the […]

May 22, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

The Vital Role and Methods of Mental Health Advocacy

Why are our young people struggling so much? In this special episode for Mental Health Awareness Month, Gene and Khadijah dive into the growing youth mental health epidemic. They explore the sharp rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among children and teens since the 1980s—fueled by factors like social media, shifting family […]

April 17, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

More than Just a Picky Eater – ARFID

Almost everyone knows a picky eater, either from their own childhood or from their child’s experiences. But sometimes picky eating goes beyond a simple preference for plain pasta. In this episode of Shrinking it Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Khadijah sit down with Dr. Kamryn Eddy to unpack the complexities of ARFID —Avoidant/Restrictive […]

February 27, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Teen Nicotine Use

In 2024, the CDC reported that 1 in 29 middle school and 1 in 13 high school students vaped in the past month. This statistic is especially troubling, given that 9 in 10 adults who smoke daily first tried smoking by the age of 18. In this episode of Shrinking it Down, Dr. Randi Schuster, […]

January 23, 2025

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Addressing Your Family’s Anxieties about the California Wildfires

The Palisades Fire has been devastating California since the start of the year, destroying over 23,000 acres and nearly 5,000 structures. In this special episode of Shrinking it Down, Gene and Khadijah explore the emotional impact of these fires, sharing strategies for parents to help them manage their own and their family’s anxieties about the […]

December 19, 2024

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Including Disability and Belonging in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

It is not always clear that disability is included in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) initiatives and though schools and many organizations have made efforts to create a fair, open, diverse and inclusive workplaces, disability representation has often been absent from modern initiatives.  Disability represents a range of differences which can have a tremendous […]

November 21, 2024

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Parents Under Pressure: A Response to the Recent U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health

In the recent Advisory, Parents Under Pressure, the US Surgeon General noted that parents are currently more stressed, burned out, and lonely than ever before. The alarming statistics are not all that different than his Advisories on the Youth Mental Health and Loneliness Epidemics that have been escalating since the late 1970s. In this episode […]