Child Mind Institute Raises More Than $550,000 at Bay Area Fall Luncheon to Support California’s Youth

As California’s youth face the second-largest increase in depression and anxiety in the country, the Bay Area community rallies around them to offer support.

San Mateo, CA – The Child Mind Institute hosted its 2022 Fall Luncheon on Thursday, September 15 at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park — raising more than $550,000 to help fund its ongoing mission of supporting youth and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders.

200 supporters of the Child Mind Institute gathered to hear insight from two leading youth mental health professionals — Daniel J. Siegel, MD and Andrea Pascarelli, PsyD — who addressed some of the biggest questions parents face: When to step in, when to stand back, and why present parenting can help kids build resilience and grow into happier, more independent adults.

Dr. Siegel is the bestselling author of The Power of Showing Up, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, The Whole Brain Child and Parenting from the Inside Out. He is alsoa clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. Dr. Pascarelli is a senior clinical psychologist in the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute’s San Mateo clinic.

Raj Mathai, weeknight news anchor for NBC Bay Area, led the discussion as the panel’s moderator.

A recent survey by the Annie E. Casey Foundation revealed that California’s youth face the second-largest increase in depression and anxiety among all states. In 2016, 7% of California’s children ages 3 to 17 were diagnosed with depression or anxiety, with that number increasing to 11.9% in 2020 — a 70% jump. 

“The best thing we can do (as a parent) is have self-understanding of what we went through as kids and how we made sense of that,” Dr. Siegel said during the panel discussion. “There’s this thing called integration, which indicates we acknowledge that we are different from each other but are able to link together in compassionate understanding.”

A full link to the entire discussion can be found here (password: fallluncheon2022); photos of the luncheon and attendees can be found here.

The luncheon co-chairs included include Devon Briger, Kristin Noto, Lisa Domenico Brooke, and Linnea Roberts.

The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to public education and giving families and professionals accurate information about mental health and learning disorders through events such as the luncheon and initiatives such the California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project, which was launched in early 2022 in partnership with the state of California.

About the Child Mind Institute The Child Mind Institute is an independent, national nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. Our teams work every day to deliver the highest standards of care, advance the science of the developing brain, and empower parents, professionals and policymakers to support children when and where they need it most. Together with our supporters, we’re helping children reach their full potential in school and in life. We share all of our resources freely and do not accept any funding from the pharmaceutical industry. Learn more at childmind.org.