Depression in children and adolescents is common, affecting at least 1/5 by the age of 18, and anxiety disorders are also common, affecting up to 10% of children. Both groups of disorders cause significant suffering and disability, and also interfere with normal developmental tasks. My research focus is in understanding the nature of mood and anxiety problems in children, developing psychoeducational programs for children and their families, and investigating the effectiveness of pharmacological and psychological treatments. Some of this research is multi-site, involving collaboration with colleagues at universities across Canada . Collaboration is also multidisciplinary with psychology, counselling psychology, speech and language specialists, and occurs in various settings, including school anxiety prevention and early intervention programs. Funding sources include Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Vancouver Foundation and others.

Placebo-controlled discontinuation of citalopram in adolescent depression (Multi-site, CIHR funded)
After open-label acute phase (12-week) treatment of adolescents with major depression, subjects are randomized to receive continued medication or placebo and followed for 6 months.

Vancouver Primary Prevention Project (CIHR funded)
Controlled investigation of group early intervention for subclinically anxious children in the school setting, compared to an equivalent attentional control group.

Sounds of Silence (Multi-site, OMHF funded)
Investigation of language and information processing functions in children with selective mutism compared to children with social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder and normal controls.

Baer, S, Garland, EJ. Pilot Study of Community-based Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Adolescents with Social Phobia. J Amer Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 44(3):258-64, 2005.

Garland, EJ. Managing Adolescent Depression in the New Reality. BCMAJ 46:516-521, 2004.

Garland, EJ. Facing the evidence: Antidepressant treatment in children and adolsecents. CMAJ 170(4):489-91, 2004.

Garland , EJ. and Solomons, K. Detection of depression in young people and the elderly BCMJ 2002; 44 (9) 467-470.

Garland , EJ. New developments in pharmacotherapy of pediatric anxiety disorders. Expert Review in Neurotherapeutics, 2002; 2(2):203-211.

Garland , EJ. (Book Chapter) Anxiety disorders. In: Kutcher, S (Ed). Practical Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge , UK , 2002.

Garland , EJ., Garland , OM. Correlation between anxiety and oppositionality in a children's mood and anxiety disorder clinic. Can J Psychiatry 953-958, 2001.

Garland , EJ. (Book Chapter) Sleep disorders in anxious children. In: Stores, G., Wiggs, L. (Eds). Sleep Disturbance in Children and Adolescents with Disorders of Development: Its Signficance and Management Clinics in Developmental Medicine No. 155. MacKeith Press, London , UK , 2001.

Garland , EJ, Baerg, EA. Amotivational syndrome associated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in children and adolescents. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacology 11:181-186, 2001.

Garland , EJ. Rages and refusals: Managing the many faces of adolescent anxiety. Can Fam Phys. 47:1023-1030, 2001.

Weiss, M., Jain, U., Garland , J. Clinical suggestions for management of stimulant treatment in adolescents. Can J Psychiatry 45:717-723, 2000.

Garland , EJ. Pharmacotherapy of adolescent ADHD: Challenges, choices and caveats. Journal of Psychopharmacology 12:385-395, 1998.

Garland , EJ. Pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Bulletin of the Canadian Psychiatric Association 30:139-140, 1998.

Department of Psychiatry, UBC, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching - 2002

Department of Psychiatry Postgraduate Clinical Teaching Award - 2000

Nicola Beckett - Research assistant

Collaborators

Dr. Lynn Miller, Counselling Psychology

Dr. Paul Hewitt, Psychology

Dr. Anthony Levitt, University of Toronto

Dr. Katarina Manassis, University of Toronto