The Village Dispatch: CMHRC's August 2026 Newsletter
Topic: Something Big Is Building, and You Can Be Part of It 
Giving Corner: When The Days 'til September Feel Like a Countdown 

Wednesday Watch Party!:  Cooling Strategies & Cooling Plans
Clinical Seminar for Professionals: Before and Beneath: Adoption Trauma and Co-Occurring Mental Illness 

This has been a season of momentum at CMHRC. Two major research studies are actively recruiting new participants right now. Our team is preparing to take the stage at one of the most significant bipolar disorder conferences in the world, and we've been expanding a library of free educational resources that we hope will make the complex feel a little more navigable for the families and providers in our community.

There is a lot to share. Let's get into it.

Two CMHRC research studies are enrolling new cohorts this summer, and both begin on September 8th. To participate, screening must be completed by September 1st. If either of these studies look like something your family might benefit from, now is the time to take a closer look.

KETOGENIC THERAPY RESEARCH STUDY - COHORT 2

The connection between metabolic health and mood disorders is one of the most promising and underexplored frontiers in children's mental health. CMHRC has been doing the hard work of building an evidence base around ketogenic therapy as a potential tool for children with mood disorders, and the results of our pilot study gave us reason to keep going.

Our Longitudinal Study is the next chapter. Where the pilot gave us a snapshot, this study asks a longer question: what does the impact of supervised ketogenic therapy look like over an extended period, across a broader group of children?

Cohort 2 is now recruiting. This is a no-cost research study, which means qualifying families access the program at no charge in exchange for contributing their data to the research. Families whose children have a mood disorder diagnosis, and who have been curious about ketogenic therapy as a possible intervention, may find this worth exploring.

PALLIATIVE PARENTING™ RESEARCH STUDY - COHORT 3

Palliative Parenting™ is one of CMHRC's most meaningful programs, and it was built for a reality that a lot of families know but few people talk about openly: that for some children with mood disorders, the goal isn't a quick fix. It's learning how to reduce suffering, improve daily functioning, and stay connected as a family while working toward the best possible outcomes over time.

Drawing on principles from palliative care, Palliative Parenting™ offers caregivers a framework for responding to their child's needs with intention and compassion, even during the hardest stretches.

Cohort 3 of the research study is open and recruiting. Participants engage with the Palliative Parenting™ curriculum and provide feedback on their experience over the course of the study. It is an opportunity to access meaningful support while contributing to research that could one day help thousands of families who feel, as so many have described, like they are just surviving from one day to the next.

This fall, our team will be presenting at the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Annual Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

ISBD is one of the most respected gatherings of bipolar disorder researchers and clinicians in the world. This year, CMHRC will be sharing two pieces of work: the findings from our ketogenic therapy pilot study, and the protocol for the longitudinal research study now recruiting Cohort 2.

Bringing this work to an international scientific audience is significant. It reflects growing interest within the research community in metabolic and dietary approaches to mood disorders, and it puts CMHRC's work in direct conversation with some of the most rigorous thinkers in the field. For a small nonprofit, having a place at that table is something we're genuinely proud of. We'll have more to share after the conference, and we'll bring it back to this community when we do.

NEW QUICK GUIDES

One of the things we hear most often from families navigating a child's mood disorder is that the available information is either too technical to be useful or too vague to be actionable. Clinicians often don't have time to explain everything. Searches turn up conflicting results. And the exhaustion of caregiving leaves little bandwidth for digging through dense literature.

That's part of why we built the Quick Guides library - and why we've been actively expanding it.

CMHRC's Quick Guides are short, clearly written educational resources covering topics like mood disorders, bipolar disorder in children, Fear of Harm, the difference between ADHD and bipolar disorder, DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, and more. They're written for real people, not for those who already have a clinical background, and they're available for free on our website.

Whether you're newly navigating a diagnosis or looking to sharpen your understanding of something your family has been living with for years, these guides are designed to give you something genuinely useful: reliable information, clearly presented, without the jargon. They're also a helpful resource to share with a grandparent, a school counselor, or anyone in your child's life who is trying to understand what your family is dealing with.

For many, the end of August signals fresh notebooks, new backpacks, and the hopeful start of a new school year. For families raising children with mood disorders or other neurodivergent needs, it can signal something else entirely: the slow build of anxiety, the dread of unpredictable mornings, the exhausting work of coordinating teachers, counselors, and care plans, all while bracing for what a change in routine might trigger.

That's exactly why we're here.

Your support helps us keep our resources free and accessible to every family who needs them. It funds the expert guidance, the community connections, and the practical tools that help parents move from overwhelmed to informed, and from isolated to supported.

As the school bells ring and the hard work begins again,

will you make a gift to CMHRC?

Cooling Strategies & Cooling Plans

Wednesday, August 19, 2026 | 7:30-8:30 PM Eastern

Cool, cool, cooling for the hot, hot summer. Families and practitioners alike, come learn how to use simple at home cooling strategies to support mental health when temperature dysregulation hits. We'll go over how to build a plan to integrate these thermoregulation techniques into daily life, all year round. These strategies each go a long way to reducing overheating and making sleep, moods, and all of daily life more manageable when you live with mood disorders, bipolar disorder, and TSDD.

Each month CMHRC hosts a watch party for families on our most popular topics related to children's mental health. Join us for the watch and then join in a live Q&A with CMHRC staff, other families, and providers. Ask your questions, share in dialogue and discussion, and find your community here.

Before and Beneath: Adoption Trauma and Co-Occurring Mental Illness

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 | 5:00-6:30 PM Eastern

Most people think that when infants are adopted at birth, and taken home from the hospital by their new adoptive parents, the trauma of adoption is avoided. But the truth is that trauma exists even in the most ideal of circumstances and can influence mental health and mental illness later in life. The good news is that understanding the causes and impacts makes us better clinicians who are more equipped to treat adoptive families in our practices. 

Join us for a deep dive with Angela Jamison, CMHRC Deputy Director, adoption and foster care specialist, certified in Trauma Responsive Practice. 

Sent by CMHRC

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