Celebrating Excellence in Children's Mental Health at FIU

Miami Herald

14-07-2025

It's a late July day at summer camp, and 8-year-old 'Miguel' swings and misses: strike three. A few weeks ago, this moment would have triggered a tantrum — throwing the bat, maybe even tears. Today, he just hands the bat to the next player. In the outfield, a 9-year-old girl tracks the next batter's hit with focused eyes — a dramatic change from early summer when she'd be picking dandelions or toeing the dirt.
Nearby, counselors track each child's progress on individualized goals — following directions, taking turns, handling disappointment — skills that will transform their experiences when school begins again. Because this isn't just any summer camp. This is FIU's Summer Treatment Program, where hundreds of children with ADHD and related challenges experience what appears to be typical summer fun but are actually immersed in cutting-edge therapeutic interventions.
At Florida International University's Center for Children and Families, scenes like this represent the heart of our mission: pioneering revolutionary approaches to children's mental health. What many South Florida families may not yet know is that world-class, transformative help for children's mental health challenges is flourishing right here in our community.
Since opening in 2010, our Center has become a beacon of research and therapeutic excellence. We've assembled a remarkable team of nearly 40 leading experts in child and adolescent mental health who collaborate to pioneer better ways to identify challenges early, develop effective treatments, and share this knowledge with families, schools, and healthcare providers.
Our crown jewel is the nationally recognized Summer Treatment Program for children with ADHD. This extraordinary program delivers the equivalent of seven years of weekly therapy in a single summer through an engaging camp experience. Children thrive in sports, art, and classroom activities carefully designed to build communication skills, emotional regulation, and social confidence — all while having fun in a supportive environment where every activity has purpose.
The transformations we witness each summer are remarkable. Children who struggled to follow directions, make friends, or succeed academically blossom before our eyes. Parents arrive with children who've experienced a challenging school year and leave with not only happier children but also a toolbox of proven strategies they can implement at home and at school. As one parent told us, 'It created a foundation for us to build the skills that he's going to need for a lifetime.'
Our innovation extends far beyond ADHD treatment. Our 'Brave Bunch' program helps children who speak normally at home but remain silent in school or social settings progressively build confidence through carefully designed social challenges – from ordering food at restaurants to joining playground activities. For children struggling with reading, our Reading Explorers program deploys a small army of expertly trained tutors across 120 summer programs in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, providing early intervention that boosts reading skills and builds academic confidence. Last year alone, this program helped over 3,000 children discover the magic of reading.
Throughout the year, our state-of-the-art outpatient clinic provides individual, family, and group therapy, including telehealth services available throughout Florida. We've forged dynamic partnerships with schools and community organizations to bring our expertise directly to where children and families are. And our innovative collaboration with the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine ensures that families receive integrated care addressing both mental health and medical needs through comprehensive psychiatric services.
The research discoveries emerging from our center represent another dimension of our excellence. Our groundbreaking studies have challenged conventional wisdom about ADHD treatment, demonstrating that behavioral interventions should be the first-line approach, with medication considered secondarily if needed — an approach that proves both more effective and more cost-efficient. Other pioneering research teams are advancing understanding of how sleep affects memory and brain development, how social media impacts adolescent mental health, and how brain and environmental factors influence risk for substance use disorders.
As we celebrate our accomplishments, we're motivated to broaden our impact. With demand for our services continuing to grow, we aim to reach more families by expanding our programs, reducing wait times, and enhancing access to care. The Children's Trust of Miami-Dade County has been an invaluable partner in this mission, but expanding our transformative programs requires additional community support and resources.
Every investment in children's mental health pays extraordinary dividends — in stronger families, more successful schools, and a healthier community. The breakthroughs we've achieved — a child with ADHD discovering focus and confidence, a selectively mute child finding their voice, a struggling reader experiencing the joy of reading fluidly — remind us of what's possible when research excellence meets compassionate care.
To learn more about our innovative programs, research, or how to support our work, visit ccf.fiu.edu.
Drs. Jeremy Pettit and Katie Hart are Executive Director and Director, respectively, of the FIU Center for Children and Families.