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a baby highfiving their pediatrician
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a young infant smiling on the exam table

If Your Child Is in Crisis, Call 911 or Mobile Crisis Intervention

  • Worcester 24-hour access number: 1-866-549-2142 (Community HealthLink, Inc)
  • MetroWest 24-hour access number: 1-800-640-5432 (Advocates)
  • North County 24-hour access number: 1-800-977-5555 (Community HealthLink, Inc.)
  • South County 24-hour access number: 1-800-294-4665 (Riverside Community Care)

Additional Emergency Numbers

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988 suicide and crisis lifeline

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

Crisis Counselor

  • Connect with a Crisis Counselor by Texting "HOME" to 741741
  • Community Services Informational and Referral Hotline: 211
  • Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Parent Stress Line: 1-800-632-8188

At Child Health Associates we are dedicated to enhancing the growth, development, and well-being of all children, from birth through adolescence including your child’s mental and behavioral health.

Our Behavioral Health Staff are available to our patients to provide consultation and/or referrals for mild to moderate emotional and behavioral challenges by providing

  • Clinical assessment with treatment recommendations
  • Individual and Family support
  • Information and resources related to education, behavioral and developmental needs

If your child requires further support, our behavioral health department will provide a list of community providers and services.

We also have a Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist on staff to provide psychiatric consultation to primary care physicians. Your child’s primary care physician may request a psychiatric evaluation and if appropriate, brief medication management to treat:

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
  • Mood Disorders
  • Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorders
  • Disruptive Disorders
  • Trauma and Stress-Related Disorders

Recommended Book Resource List

Children & Parents: Anxiety

Toddler - Kindergarten

  • A Little Spot of Anxiety:  A Story About Calming Our Worries, by Diane Alber (ages 3-9)
  • Anxiety Relief for Kids, by Rachel Stone (workbook)
  • Breathe Like a Bear, by Kira Wiley
  • Breathe, by Scott Magoon
  • Can’t You Sleep Little Bear?, by Marten Waddell
  • CBT Workbook for Kids, by Heather Davidson
  • Cool Cats, Calm Kids, by Mary L. Williams
  • Dogger, by Shirley Hughes
  • Dogs Don’t Do Ballet, by Anna Kemp
  • Growing Up Brave, by Donna Pincus
  • Harry McClarey, by Lynley Dodd
  • How Big Are Your Worries Little Bear, by Jayneen Sanders
  • Is A Worry Worrying You?, by Ferida Wolff and Harriet Savitz (ages 4-8)
  • Listening with My Heart, by Gabi Garcia
  • Llama Llama Misses Mama, by Anna Dewdney
  • Mommy Don’t Go, by Elizabeth Crary
  • No Matter What, by Debi Glori
  • Outsmart Worry, by Dawn Heubner
  • Ready… Set… R.E.L.A.X., by Jeffrey Alan and Roger Klein
  • Scaredy Squirrel, by Melanie Watt
  • The Invisible String, by Patricia Karst
  • The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn
  • The Monster at the End of the Book, by Jon Stone
  • The Owl That Was Afraid of the Dark, by Jill Tomlenson
  • The Worry Box, by Suzanne Chiew
  • The Worry Workbook for Kids, by Muniya Khanna and Deborah Roth Ledley
  • Thunder Cake, by Patricia Palacco, (reading can be found on YouTube)
  • Up & Down the Worry Hill: A Children’s Book About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Its Treatment, by Aureen Pinto Wagner
  • What a Bad Dream, by Mercer Mayer
  • When I Miss You, by Cornelia Maude Spelman
  • When Lions Roar, by Robie Harris
  • When My Worries Get Too Big, by Kari Dunn Buron (grade level 3-4)
  • Wilma Jean the Worry Machine, by Julia Cook
  • Worry, Worry, Go Away!, by Christine Adams
  • You Go Away, by Dorothy Corey

6-12 Years

  • A Terrible Thing Happened (PTSD), by Margaret Holmes
  • Guts, by Raina Telegmeier, (Comic book specific to Emetophobia, fear of vomiting)
  • I Bet I Won’t Fret: A Workbook to Help Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, by T.A. Sisemore
  • I Don’t Want to Go to School, by Nancy Pando
  • I Feel Worried! Tips for Kids on Overcoming Anxiety, by Donna Shea and Nadine Briggs
  • Is a Worry Worrying You?, by Ferida Wolff and Harriet Savitz
  • Outsmart Your Worry Tool Kit (ages 5-11)
  • Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids, by Reid Wilson, PhD, and Lynn Lysons, LICSW.
  • (Free e-book; companion to Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children
  • Up and Down the Worry Hill: A Children’s Book About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Its Treatment, by Aureen Pinto Wagner
  • What to Do When Bad Habits Take Hold: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Nail Biting and More, by Dawn Heubner
  • What to Do When You Dread Your Bed: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems With Sleep, by Dawn Heubner
  • What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety, by Dawn Heubner
  • What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming OCD, by Dawn Heubner
  • What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems With Anger, by Dawn Heubner
  • Willow Wonders, Why Do I Worry?, by Wynne Radcliffe and Kristin Beckstrom Radcliffe
  • Win or Lose, I Love You!, by Lysa Terkeurst

Teens

  • Conquer Negative Thinking for Teens: A Workbook to Break the Nine Thought Habits That Are Holding You Back, by Dr. Mary Karapetian Alvord
  • Conquer Your Fears and Phobias for Teens: How to Build Courage and Stop Fear From Holding You Back, by Andrea Umbach, PsyD
  • Feeling Better: CBT Workbook for Teens, by Rachel Hutt
  • Free From OCD, by Timothy Sisemore, (Is a good workbook)
  • Mindfulness for Teen Worry, by Jeffrey Bernstein, PhD
  • Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids, by Reid Wilson, PhD, and Lynn Lysons, LICSW.  (Free e-book; companion to Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7
  • Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children
  • Stuff That Sucks: A Teen’s Guide to Accepting What You Can’t Change and Committing to What You Can, by Ben Sedley
  • Stuff That’s Loud: A Teen’s Guide to Unspiraling When OCD Gets Noisy, by Ben Sedley and Lisa Coyne
  • The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens: CBT and ACT Skills to Help You Build
  • Social Confidence, by Jennifer Shannon, LMFT
  • Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green

Parents

  • Anxiety Relief for Kids: On the Spot Strategies to Help Child Conquer Worry and Avoidance, by Michael Tompkins and Bridget Flynn Walker
  • Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and
  • Independent Children, by Reid Wilson, PhD, and Lynn Lyons, LICSW
  • Help for Worried Kids: How Your Child Can Conquer Anxiety and Fear, by Cynthia G. Last
  • Helping Your Anxious Child, by Ronald Rapee
  • Helping Your Child Overcome Separation Anxiety or School Refusal, by Andrew Eisen and Linda Engler
  • Parenting Your Anxious Child with Mindfulness and Acceptance: A Powerful New
  • Approach to Overcoming Fear, Panic, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, by Christopher McCurry
  • What to Do When Your Child Has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Strategies and Solutions, by Aureen Wagner

Parents: ADHD

Parents

  • 101 Best Tips for ADHD, by Susan Ashley
  • ADHD Parenting Handbook – Practical Advice for Parents, by Coleen Alexander-Roberts
  • Calming the Chaos, by Jim Fay and Charles Fay
  • Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood
  • Through Adulthood, by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey
  • Parenting Children with ADHD, by Vincent Monastra
  • Putting on the Brakes – Activity Book for Kids with ADD or ADHD, by Patricia Quinn and Judy Stern
  • Smart by Scattered, by Colin Guare and Peg Dawson
  • Taking Charge of ADHD, by Russell Barkley
  • The ADHD Book of Lists, by Sandra Rief
  • The Everything Parent Guide to Children with Executive Functioning Disorder, by Rebecca Branstetter, PhD

Children & Parents: Toilet Training

Children

  • A Potty for Me, by Karen Katz
  • Everybody Poops, by Taro Gomi
  • I’ve Finished, by Victoria Roberts
  • It Hurts When I Poop, by Howard Bennett
  • Once Upon a Potty, by Alona Frankel
  • Potty Time with Elmo, Phoenix International Publications
  • Potty, by Leslie Patricelli
  • The New Potty, by Mercer Mayer
  • The Potty Book for Boys, by Alyssa Capucilli
  • The Potty Book for Girls, by Alyssa Capucilli

Parents

  • No Cry Potty Training Solution, by Elizabeth Pantrey
  • Potty Training Answer Book, by Karen Deerwester
  • Potty Wise, by Grey Ezzo
  • Stress Free Potty Training, by Sara Au and Peter Stanvinoha
  • The Everything Guide to Potty Training, by Kim Bookout
  • Toilet Training, by Vicki Lansk