During Mental Health Awareness Month Palo Alto University (PAU), dedicated to psychology and counseling, is convening a host of experts to examine two pressing mental health issues: the children’s mental health crisis that is impacting children and families nationwide and the issue of policing and mental health as it relates to the work that police departments everywhere are doing to revamp the way officers respond to mental health calls.

The discussions will be presented live, on-line and are free and open to the public. A question-and-answer session will follow each discussion. Also, as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Palo Alto University is offering a host of free on-line mental health and wellness resources to help individuals navigate self-help and mental health support.
“Palo Alto University addresses society’s most pressing and emerging mental health issues through research and training in psychology and counseling,” says PAU President Maureen O’Connor. “During Mental Health Awareness Month, ealth and well-being of children and the safety of the communities in which we live and to take advantage of our free on-line resources.”
About the Panel Discussions
May 17, 2022, 11 a.m. (PST)
Good Treatment Matters: Mitigating the Crisis in Children’s Mental Health
Recently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine, recommended that children between the ages of 8 and 18 be screened for anxiety. This call to action follows the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) sounding the alarm on a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. This panel discussion moderated by Dr. Robert D. Frieberg, head of PAU’s Pediatric Behavioral Health program will discuss the issues and approaches to addressing this crisis in children’s mental health.
The panelists include:
- Jennifer Paternostro, PhD (she/her/hers) is a pediatric psychologist in Iowa City, IA. She is clinical faculty at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of youth with chronic medical conditions using a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework. Dr. Paternostro also is a co-editor with Dr. Robert Friedberg on their book titled “Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Pediatric Medical Conditions.”
- Erica Rozmid, PhD, ACT, is a Los Angeles-based Clinical Psychologist practicing in California, Colorado, and Rhode Island. She specializes in working with children, adolescents, and adults using: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Exposure Therapy.
- Micaela Thordarson, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist and the program supervisor for a DBT intensive outpatient program at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in Orange, CA.
- Michael Tompkins, PhD, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist and board certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, co-director of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, and is the author of Zero to 60: A Teen’s Guide to Manage Frustration, Anger and Everyday Irritations.