Anxiety Treatment
for Children and Adolescents
Anxiety Treatment for Children and Adolescents Helping You Learn the Skills to Navigate Challenging Emotions
You may have arrived here because your child or teen…
• is struggling with managing anxiety or emotions in uncomfortable situations.
• does not want to participate in social settings for fear of being judged by others (Social Anxiety)
• becomes dysregulated when separated from parents, including struggling to sleep in their own bed (Separation Anxiety).
• struggles to “turn off” their mind and becomes overwhelmed by worries about the future, especially at night (Generalized Anxiety).
• experiences intense physical sensations out of nowhere (Panic) or avoids certain places for fear of these symptoms (Agoraphobia).
• avoids specific triggers like animals, needles, heights, etc. (Specific Phobia).
• Your child is at least 8 years of age.
Whatever has brought you here, I am so glad you’re here. Read on to see if you think my Anxiety Treatment might be a good fit for your child and family.
Natural Reactions to Anxiety
• Viewing situations more negatively than they are (e.g., “My plane is going to crash”).
• Avoiding situations that might cause anxiety or discomfort (e.g., “I’ll drive across the country to avoid the plane”).
My Treatment Approach
Connect
The main source of change in therapy is the connection between therapist and client. It is vital to begin treatment by fostering this connection, as well as helping children and families connect with their emotions. Understanding the purpose of emotions, their components, and how they are maintained forms the roots of our treatment together. This is an essential foundation for managing emotions.
Learn
Learning skills to manage emotions is the main structure of our treatment (the trunk and branches of the tree). You and your child will learn to address unhelpful thoughts (e.g., “Everyone thinks I’m an idiot”), anchor in the present moment, alter unhelpful behaviors, and manage distressing physical symptoms.
Flourish
Once the roots and structure of the tree are established, real growth can happen. During exposures, children intentionally place themselves in situations that might bring about feelings of discomfort or uncertainty. These situations teach children and teens that their negative assumptions were either incorrect or tolerable. Following this portion of treatment, children are able to graduate and flourish in their lives, equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be their own psychologist moving forward
Treatment Duration
While some people need more or less, this structured treatment typically lasts between 12-20 sessions. It requires high levels of motivation for success. Learning new skills and putting them into practice will require work from both the child and the parent. Much of the change occurs because of the work completed between sessions.