Cure JM recently hosted its Mental Health Summit, bringing together experts in pediatric anxiety and rheumatology to focus on integrating mental health support into care for children with juvenile myositis.
Dr. Eli Lebowitz (Yale School of Medicine) introduced Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), an evidence-based approach that equips parents with practical tools to support children experiencing anxiety in the context of chronic illness.
A panel of pediatric rheumatology providers shared real-world strategies for incorporating mental health support across clinical settings, highlighting both challenges and scalable solutions.
The program concluded with remarks from Dr. Dawn Wahezi, reinforcing the importance of addressing mental and emotional health as part of comprehensive care.
SESSION 1 – Integrating Evidence-Based Anxiety Support into Pediatric Specialty Care
Eli Lebowitz, PhD, Co-Director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program and Associate Professor at the Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, introduced SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) as an evidence-based resource that can be incorporated into clinical care to support families managing childhood anxiety. Drawing on his work developing SPACE and on his books Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD and Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety, Dr. Lebowitz focused on practical considerations for integrating this parent-focused intervention into pediatric rheumatology and rare disease settings, with particular attention to anxiety related to chronic illness, treatment burden, and medical uncertainty.
SESSION 2 – Panel Discussion: Integrating Mental Health Support Across Pediatric Rheumatology Settings
Led by Andrea Knight, MD (The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada), this panel brought together pediatric rheumatologists from small, medium, and large practices to examine how mental health support is being incorporated into whole-patient care. Panelists discussed practical challenges, resource constraints, and scalable strategies for supporting patients and caregivers navigating chronic rare diseases, including juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, across diverse clinical settings. Panelists included Bethany Walker, NP (Children’s of Alabama), Sheetal S. Vora, MD (Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital), and Alaina M. Davis, MD (Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt).
CLOSING REMARKS
Closing remarks were delivered by Dawn Wahezi, MD, Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Einstein in Bronx, NY, and a steering committee member for Cure JM’s Clinical Care Network.
