Pediatric Psychopharmacology Series
A special thank you to the Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy for making this webinar possible
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This webinar will be held in two parts and discusses Pediatric Psychopharmacology. Psychologists working with children and adolescents frequently provide therapy to patients who are also receiving psychiatric medication. This two-part series offers practical pediatric psychopharmacology knowledge from the psychologist's vantage point: what medications are intended to treat, how response may unfold, what adverse effects or warning signs to monitor, and when communication with the prescribing clinician is indicated. The series emphasizes the psychologist's role within medication-informed care: supporting children and families, tracking changes in symptoms and functioning over time, recognizing when the clinical picture has shifted, documenting relevant observations, and collaborating effectively with prescribers.
The first workshop will be held on Monday, May 10 and is titled "The Psychologist's Guide to Pediatric Psychopharmacology: ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Tics, and OCD".
The second workshop will be held on Monday, May 24 and is titled "Depression & Anxiety: Beyond the Black Box."
We encourage you to attend both webinars, but you have the option of only attending one. The price per webinar decreases if you attend both.
Both webinars will be held from 9am-1:15pm Eastern Standard Time.
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The Psychologist's Guide to Pediatric Psychopharmacology: ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Tics, and OCD
Children presenting for psychotherapy frequently carry diagnoses of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, tic disorders, and OCD, often in combination. When these children are also receiving psychiatric medication, psychologists are often the most consistent clinical observers in their lives: the clinicians who see them weekly, field parent concerns, and notice when symptoms, functioning, or side effects change.
This introductory webinar provides practical medication knowledge for psychologists working with children and adolescents in this diagnostic cluster. Participants will review commonly used medication classes, including stimulants, nonstimulants, alpha-2 agonists, SSRIs, and selected antipsychotics. Emphasis will be placed on what each medication class targets, expected time course of response, common side effects, clinical warning signs, and the distinction between FDA-approved and off-label use.
The webinar will also address common clinical complexities, including trauma presentations misread as ADHD, medication sequencing when ADHD, OCD, and tic disorders co-occur, and what medication can and cannot target in autism spectrum disorder. Throughout, the focus will remain on the psychologist's role as a non-prescribing clinician: preparing children and families for psychiatric evaluation, supporting family understanding and child voice, observing medication response in weekly treatment, documenting relevant clinical changes, and communicating effectively with prescribers.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the major medication classes commonly used in children and adolescents with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder-associated symptoms, tic disorders, and OCD, including stimulants, nonstimulants, alpha-2 agonists, SSRIs, and selected antipsychotics.
2. Identify common medication targets, expected response patterns, side effects, warning signs, and clinical pitfalls relevant to psychotherapy monitoring in this diagnostic cluster.
3. Recognize when a clinical presentation may complicate the medication picture - including trauma symptoms misidentified as ADHD, co-occurring ADHD, OCD, and tic symptoms, and autism spectrum disorder-associated irritability or aggression - and describe how to communicate these observations to the prescriber.
4. Apply knowledge of the psychologist's non-prescribing role to prepare children and families for psychiatric evaluation, support shared decision-making, and document and communicate clinically relevant medication observations.
Depression & Anxiety: Beyond the Black Box
Depression and anxiety are among the most common reasons children and adolescents are referred for psychotherapy. When children are also receiving antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, psychologists are often the most consistent clinical observers in their lives.
This introductory webinar provides practical medication knowledge for psychologists working with children and adolescents with depression and anxiety. Participants will review commonly used antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication approaches, with emphasis on SSRIs and related medication classes. The workshop will address what these medications target, expected time course of response, common side effects, clinical warning signs, discontinuation concerns, and the FDA boxed warning for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth.
Particular attention will be given to clinical situations in which the psychologist's observations may directly affect medication management, including SSRI activation, increased suicidal ideation or behavior, sexual side effects that adolescents may not readily disclose, abrupt medication discontinuation, and symptoms suggesting possible emerging bipolar disorder or psychosis. The workshop emphasizes recognition of red flags - including decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, marked behavioral change, psychotic symptoms, progressive social withdrawal, functional decline, and ideas of reference - and when same-day prescriber contact, urgent psychiatric referral, mobile crisis, emergency services, or a higher level of care is indicated.
The webinar will also address family concerns about antidepressants, medication meaning, stigma, authenticity, and how to prepare families for psychiatric evaluation and medication initiation.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Describe the major medication approaches commonly used in children and adolescents with depression and anxiety, including SSRIs and related antidepressant medication classes.
2. Identify common medication targets, expected response patterns, side effects, warning signs, and clinical pitfalls relevant to psychotherapy monitoring when children and adolescents are taking antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication.
3. Differentiate expected early medication side effects from symptoms that may require prescriber reassessment, same-day prescriber contact, urgent psychiatric referral, or emergency evaluation - including how to recognize early signs of bipolar disorder and psychosis in a clinical practice setting.
4. Explain how to prepare children and families for psychiatric evaluation and the first weeks of medication treatment, including how to address common fears about antidepressants and support adolescent voice in treatment decisions.
Instructor Bio
Ashley Sterchele, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and Medical Director of Ambulatory Services at Mount Sinai Behavioral Health Center, formerly Mount Sinai Beth Israel, in New York City. In this role, she provides clinical and administrative leadership across a continuum of ambulatory behavioral health services, including Integrated Outpatient Services, Partial Hospitalization, Intensive Outpatient, Comprehensive Evaluation Services, Express Care-Urgent Behavioral Health Care, and Intensive Crisis Residence programs.
Her clinical and teaching work is grounded in close collaboration with psychologists, therapists, and interdisciplinary teams. She approaches psychopharmacology as one part of a broader biopsychosocial formulation, integrating medication decisions with developmental context, psychotherapy goals, family systems, trauma-informed care, and the realities of clinical practice.
Dr. Sterchele completed her psychiatry residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where she served as Chief Resident, and her Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at New York University, where she served as Inpatient Chief Fellow. She later served as Associate Program Director of the Mount Sinai psychiatry residency, where she directed curricula in trauma-informed care and biopsychosocial formulation and co-directed curricula in interviewing foundations and child and young adult psychopathology. During fellowship, she developed and taught school-based workshops for families on behavioral management, social-emotional learning, collaborative problem-solving, and parent-child communication. Her teaching interests include psychopharmacology across the lifespan, ADHD, mood disorders, trauma-informed prescribing, and diagnostic formulation in complex clinical presentations.
She presented the symposium, “Protecting Patients, Protecting Clinicians: A Sustainable Model for Psychiatric Care Transitions,” at the 2026 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting, focused on a care engagement initiative to reduce barriers to outpatient access following inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. She has presented scholarly work, quality improvement, and clinical case reports at national meetings, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. She is the recipient of the Max Needleman Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Mount Sinai Department of Psychiatry Teaching Excellence Award, and the NYCPS Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award.
Dr. Sterchele has no conflicts of interest for this program.
Contact Us
For questions, please contact: ce@gsapp.rutgers.edu
Continuing Education Information
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0123.
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists to offer continuing education for school psychologists. Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for the program.
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.