Our kids need to talk about mental health, too. We can be on their side.
A note from Dr. Neha Chaudhary, Brightline’s newest advisor
It starts with one
Silence hung in the air between us as I waited patiently for my new 11-year-old patient to continue. She fidgeted with the gum wrapper between her fingers, folding and unfolding it repeatedly as she searched her mind for her next words.
Her 11 years of anxiety had bubbled up and over to the point where she wondered if she would ever get through life like other kids did. She wanted a break from her feelings; any respite would do. With stellar grades, lots of friends, and a robust list of activities, on the outside, she seemed like the kid who had everything together. On the inside, meanwhile, she felt like she could crumble any second — and no one knew until today.
“I’ve never told anyone this before,” she said, glancing up to make eye contact for the first time during the interview with a wave of relief across her face.
The weight of her words hit me as I realized yet again how powerful the therapeutic treatment experience could be. As a child psychiatrist, I had seen so many kids like her in my clinic. Yet, each time I heard those words, I had the same reaction, and felt the same sense of responsibility. There we were, strangers sitting together: her experience finally exposed and my looking around to see if anyone else could see it, only to realize that I was the one person who could in that moment.
The words of one of my previous mentors danced across my mind. It only takes one person to change a child’s life for the better.
Could I change her life? I didn’t know. But what I did know was that in that moment, this child was able to take the troubling thoughts and feelings inside her and place them somewhere else. Somewhere that someone else could help her carry the weight, and remind her that she wasn’t alone. And, if I could show her it was safe to do that with trusted adults throughout her life, maybe one of them, one day, would be that one person who helped her most.
Increasing the odds
For years I’ve poured myself into my clinical and academic work, trying as part of the treatment to help one kid at a time find their one trusted person who would change their life for the better. Was it their parent? Their teacher? Their coach? Their therapist?
I’ve always thought that to move the needle, we’d need a world in which there were more options for that one person, and more chances for kids to find them. More people looking out for kids and treating them when they were struggling — maybe even a whole team in the child’s corner. More people who knew what to do and how to create safe spaces for kids to be themselves — maybe even parents, who were somehow equipped with the tools they needed to be that one person.
When I heard of Brightline, I could finally see a path toward that ubiquitous mental health care for youth, and one that was full of scientific evidence, innovative care models, and a much-needed focus on helping parents actively participate in their child’s care in a healthy way. The odds finally seemed better.
Doing it together
I joined because I found a team of bright, dedicated, kind-spirited people who place science at the center and want to focus on the places that, as a child psychiatrist, I think will really make an impact on kids all over. And, I don’t mean the one-kid-at-a-time impact that I’m used to from academic medicine or private practice — I mean across-the-country impact at scale. I mean the kind of impact that finally makes mental health care for youth mainstream. That kind of impact takes a village to create.
Outside of my work with Brightline I see patients via telemedicine, work part-time on faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and help lead Brainstorm, Stanford’s Lab for Mental Health Innovation where we focus on how to design products for mental health with scientific rigor and safety at their core. I’m also a medical journalist, using what I know from clinical work to educate or advocate for people at home through work in the media. And, I’m working on a book on how to raise emotionally healthier kids through the small, everyday moments.
Finding Brightline was like stumbling upon a beautiful convergence of my experience, aspirations, and passions — with people I love being around, working toward a goal I’ve always believed in. The warmth, energy, and resolve from the founders (who are parents themselves!) flows throughout the entire team. I couldn’t be more honored to join them in this mission to help kids everywhere. Let’s do this.
About Dr. Chaudhary
Neha Chaudhary, MD is committed to applying creativity and innovation to traditional medical practices to improve mental health on a broad scale, with a focus on helping parents raise healthier children. She is currently a double board certified child & adolescent psychiatrist at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Chaudhary is a co-founder of Brainstorm, the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, advises young mental health companies and nonprofits, and is working on a book on how to raise emotionally healthier children through the small moments.
Her work and advice have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Business Insider, INSIDER, ABC News, CNN, Wired, Dr. Drew’s Midday Live, Slate’s Life Effects podcast, on-air on ABC News’s show GMA3, in parenting webinars including for Walt Disney employees, and more.
Learn more about Dr. Chaudhary’s work at nehachaudharymd.com
Follow her on Twitter! @NehaChaudharyMD
About Brightline
Founded in 2019, Brightline is reinventing behavioral health care for children and families, bringing together innovative technology, virtual behavioral health services, and an integrated care team focused on supporting children across developmental stages and their families. Brightline is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA and expanding quickly to support families across the country!
Learn more at hellobrightline.com
Follow us on Twitter @hellobrightline and on Instagram @hellobrightline
