The Nuts and Bolts of Telepsychiatry, featuring Janet Wozniak, MD – Shrinking It Down

Curious preschool african mixed race girl using laptop on couch, little smart black kid typing on computer chatting with friends online alone at home, child security, children and gadget concept

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director, Janet Wozniak, MD and Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Topics: Anxiety, Behavioral Issues, Depression, Digital Media, Mental Illness + Psychiatric Disorders

Did you know the first telepsychiatry visits at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), conducted back in 2014, weren’t for adults, but for children? Flash forward, we never imagined how critical teletherapy and telemedicine would become – in such a short period of time – as a part of routine healthcare for all age groups and populations, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In today’s episode of Shrinking It Down, we welcome special guest Dr. Janet Wozniak, Associate Chief of Quality and Safety for Department of Psychiatry at MGH, for a conversation about telepsychiatry. What is it? How has it been helping kids and teens? What barriers still exist for some families, and what are we doing to address them?

While virtual visits will never be the same as in-person, Dr. Wozniak talks about the gains for clinicians working with kids, like meeting other members of the family (including pets!) and getting a better sense of the home environment, which influences their day-to-day life. Plus, she shares concrete tips for making the most of your child or teen’s teletherapy visit.

Thank you for joining in this conversation. If you have a question about telepsychiatry, we’d love to hear from you. Write to us!

Media List

Follow along with the conversation.

Janet Wozniak, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Janet Wozniak, MD: Bipolar Disorder and the Paradigm Shift in Pediatric Psychiatry (Massachusetts General Hospital – Charged Podcast)
Support Kids and Teens Following the Riot In Our Nation’s Capitol (MGH Clay Center)
What Is Telepsychiatry? (American Psychiatric Association)
The Child Psychiatrist is In Your Living Room (MGH Clay Center)
Emerging Technologies and the Frontiers of Autism Research (MGH Clay Center)
Preparing For Your Child’s First Appointment With A Mental Health Clinician (MGH Clay Center)
Make Telehealth for Behavioral Health Permanent (GBH News)
VIRUS TODAY: Coronavirus deaths hit another daily high in US (The Associated Press)
Hospitals vaccine rollout starts out rough, but picks up steam (Boston 25 News)
Injections Of Second Coronavirus Vaccine Doses Have Begun (NPR)

Tune in wherever you get your podcasts – just search for ‘Shrinking It Down.’

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Episode edited by Joshua Eng

Music by Gene Beresin

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Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, is associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Associate Director of the Child and...

To learn more about Khadijah, or to contact her directly, please see Our Team.

Janet Wozniak, MD

Dr. Janet Wozniak is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital. After receiving her BA from Harvard College, Dr. Wozniak completed medical school at Cornell Medical University. She completed ...

To read full bio click here.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.