If a seventh-grade boy gets shoved by a classmate in the hall every day, he might opt to take a more circuitous route to class or make sure he keeps in sight of teachers.
He also might lie awake at night worrying about the classmate’s threats, develop abdominal pain and headaches from the stress, and beg to stay home every morning.
When such social and emotional issues manifest as medical symptoms in kids, doctors are teaming up with families, behavioral health consultants and teachers to keep the kids healthy and in school.
“Bullying is something I bring up at every well-child check,” said Dr. Amanda Lee, a pediatrician at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Toppenish. “It’s been a very big issue in our community.”
Yakima’s three community health clinics have made a big push in the last few years to integrate mental and behavioral health with medical services. Behavioral health specialists and medical practitioners are housed in the same building, facilitating a “warm handoff” between providers.
[For more of this story, written by Molly Rosbach, go to http://www.yakimaherald.com/ne...ca-c7e06d6f721f.html]
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