Serious Emotional Disturbances in Children, Youth, and Young Adults

Course overview

Course Description: Serious emotional disturbances (SED) represent one of the most significant and complex challenges in child and adolescent mental health. This course provides a comprehensive examination of SED as defined by federal mental health legislation, exploring the diagnostic landscape across six major disorder categories: trauma-related disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, mood disorders, and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders. Learners will gain a thorough understanding of how SED differs from adult serious mental illness, why functional impairment is the defining criterion for an SED designation, and how developmental stage shapes both symptom presentation and treatment planning. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based assessment practices, validated tools for measuring functional impairment across life domains, and the importance of multi-informant evaluation in accurately identifying youth who qualify for intensive services. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level practitioners who wish to learn more about serious emotional disturbances in children, youth, and young adults. It is also a good resource for licensed therapists who need clinical continuing education for license renewal. Authors: Bonadio, Quinn, Lim, Zabel, Bellonci Learning Objectives: This course will provide a professional with detailed information about serious emotional disturbances in children, youth, and young adults. Specifically, the practitioner will: Define Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED), and distinguish it from Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and from intellectual and developmental disabilities. Identify its estimated prevalence, and developmental considerations across early childhood, school age, adolescence, and young adulthood. Describe the clinical presentation, risk factors, and co-occurring disorders for each of the six SED diagnostic categories covered in the course: trauma-related disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, mood disorders, and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders. Identify evidence-based treatments and promising practices for each diagnostic category. Citation: Bonadio, F. T., Quinn, S., Lim, J., Zabel, M., & Bellonci, C. (2026). Serious emotional disturbances in children, youth, and young adults. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (Publication No. PEP26-01-006).