Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a leading voice in children's mental health, will address the youth mental health crisis at the Northeast Region Biofeedback Society (NRBS) 2025 Annual Conference in New York City. Her presentation, "The Hidden Epidemic: Emotional Dysregulation in Today's Youth," will expose how nervous system dysregulation lies at the root of many mental health and learning challenges that conventional approaches often miss.
The conference comes at a critical time when diagnosed anxiety among adolescents increased by 61% between 2016 and 2023, while depression diagnoses rose by 45% in the same period. Today, nearly 1 in 5 teens lives with a diagnosed mental or behavioral condition, with many struggling to access appropriate care. Emotional dysregulation alone is estimated to affect 30–50% of children in clinical settings, yet it often goes unrecognized in schools and families.
"We are facing a youth mental health crisis, but the real issue isn't just anxiety or attention—it's dysregulation of the nervous system," said Dr. Roseann. "When we calm the brain first, kids can focus, learn, and heal. That's the shift I'll be bringing to NRBS 2025." The conference, themed "Rethinking Paradigms: Innovative Approaches for Optimal Wellness," will take place October 24–26, 2025, with more information available at https://nrbs.org/2025-nrbs-annual-conference.
Dr. Roseann will share practical, brain-based strategies that can be used by clinicians, educators, and parents to calm stress, improve focus, and help children thrive in an overstimulated world. Her approach, known as Regulation First Parenting™, emphasizes that no healing or learning can happen without proper nervous system regulation first. This methodology represents a significant shift from traditional mental health interventions that may not address underlying physiological dysregulation.
The NRBS 2025 Conference features an extraordinary lineup of thought leaders including Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., world-renowned trauma expert and author of The Body Keeps the Score; Thomas Campbell, M.D., physician and researcher on nutrition and lifestyle medicine; Erik Peper, Ph.D., BCB, authority on optimizing health and learning in a digital-stress world; Stoyan Vezenkov, Ph.D., researcher on screen addiction and brain development; Marina Makous, M.D., physician specializing in neuroinflammation and mental health; and Lynda Thompson, Ph.D., global leader in neurofeedback and clinical success.
This gathering is particularly important because it brings together scientists, practitioners, educators, and parents around solutions for urgent mental health challenges. For practitioners, the conference offers cutting-edge clinical tools in biofeedback, neurofeedback, and trauma care to expand treatment options and improve patient outcomes. For educators, it provides actionable classroom strategies that directly reduce stress and improve learning in an era when dysregulation is disrupting classrooms nationwide. For parents, a Youth Wellness Intensive offers hands-on strategies for raising regulated, resilient children even in a digital-stress world.
The conference's focus on blending neuroscience, biofeedback, and integrative health approaches represents a paradigm shift in how mental health professionals approach youth mental health challenges. With topics spanning trauma recovery, nutrition, digital stress, and emotional regulation, NRBS 2025 offers evidence-driven solutions for the growing mental health crisis affecting young people across the nation.
