Massachusetts General Hospital Child Depression Program

03/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined the MGH Pediatric Psychopharmacology Conference.

It is always encouraging to see clinicians in pediatric psychiatry from across the country come together with a shared commitment to learn from one another and to provide better care for their patients. The energy throughout the conference was outstanding.

These photos from Dr. Uchida’s lectures were taken by her very first research assistant from early in her career, who is now a seasoned nurse practitioner at Boston Children’s Hospital and attended this year’s conference.

A meaningful reminder of the generational impact of mentorship and the continued passing on of knowledge, care, and positivity within the field.

05/28/2024

Honoring & , we'd like to celebrate the advocacy of Dr. Mai Uchida, Director of the MGH Child Depression Program, that significantly improved the COVID vaccination rates in Japan.
See her story here!: https://go.mydrkatz.com/4bJd9FR

04/12/2023

Please meet Harvard Medical School's newest Associate Professor of Psychiatry! Congratulations, Dr. Uchida!

03/21/2023

Call for Participants!

We are studying children of parents with ADHD, and we are looking for volunteers.

In this research study, we want to learn more about the development of ADHD in children ages 4-8 years whose parents either have been diagnosed with ADHD or do not have a diagnosis of ADHD. If you have a child between the ages of 4-8, they may qualify for this study, even if you do not have ADHD!

The study consists of brief clinical interviews on Zoom and surveys regarding your child’s behavior, and you would receive a $20 e-check each visit for your compensation, for up to $60. Additionally, there is an optional MRI brain scan that would take place at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It is not necessary for study participation, and you would be compensated $100 if you choose this additional step.

To learn more, please contact Hannah O’Connor at hgoconnor@mgh.harvard.edu or 617-643-6617.

09/01/2022

Do you enjoy watching figure skating? How did you feel about the Olympics this year?
Here's Dr. Uchida and Dr. Morelli's (both former figure skaters and current child psychiatrists at MGH!) take on what they saw regarding the doping scandal of the young Russian skaters at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Two former competitive figure skaters turned pediatric psychiatrists shine light on figure skating, and young athlete mental health.

09/01/2022

https://www.mghclaycenter.org/multimedia/youth-athlete-mental-health-mgh-clay-center/

If you are a parent or a coach to a young athlete, or if you care about athletes' mental health, this is a podcast for you! Listen to Dr. Uchida talk about how to keep the sport exciting and competitive, while protecting the mental well-being of the young athletes!

At what point are we pushing our young athletes too hard? We all watched 15-year-old Russian Olympic skater, Kamila Valieva, exit the ice in tears after a doping scandal.

09/01/2022

Call for Participants!!🙋‍♀️
We are studying children of parents with ADHD and we are looking for volunteers!
In this research study we want to learn more about the development of ADHD in children ages 4-8 whose parents either have been diagnosed with ADHD or do not have a diagnosis of ADHD. If you have a child between the ages of 4-8, they may qualify for this study even if you don't have ADHD!
There is an optional MRI brain scan at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is compensated for $50.
To learn more, please see the graphic below and email Daniel Walsh at dwalsh20@mgh.harvard.edu, or call 617-726-1665.

10/15/2021

Our new paper, “Association Between Frontal Cortico-Limbic White-Matter Microstructure and Risk for Pediatric Depression” was accepted to Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging!

Dr. Uchida led this collaborative neuroimaging study with the MIT Gabrieli group that identified structural brain connectivity that differentiated the risk for unipolar depression and the risk for bipolar disorder in children.

The differentiation of these two types of mood disorders in children is a significant clinical conundrum. Our group has been searching for clinical indicators and neural biomarkers that could give us a sign, and this paper brings us one step closer to our overarching goal!

06/28/2021

What happens to kids who have ADHD that grow up? The adult outcomes of longitudinal studies that followed children with ADHD was published in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AKA the Orange Journal)!

To describe adult outcome of people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosed in childhood and its several key predictors via a review of 7 North American controlled prospective follow-up studies: Montreal, New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), B...

06/21/2021

Please read Dr. Uchida's thoughts on tennis player, Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from competition and mental health advocacy.

By Mai Uchida, MD

06/11/2021

Our newest publication on the 10 year year longitudinal follow up of children with genetic risk for depression into their adolescent to young adult years was picked up on the MGH Psychiatry News!

The Child Behavior Checklist can be used to identify children at increasing risk for developing major depression.

05/22/2021

Gracie Gold is also joining our conversation tonight! 2 national champions and 2 Olympic team Bronze medalists are sitting down with Dr. Uchida to discuss their mental health journeys!
Register from www.mghstudentwellness.org/mirai