Let’s start with signs of anxiety in your child or teen. Have you noticed your child displaying:
- Worry that keeps coming back and interferes with their everyday life
- Physical symptoms like headaches or stomachaches that don’t seem to be connected to any other medical issues
- Avoidance of certain situations or activities due to fear or worry
- Changes in behavior like suddenly becoming more withdrawn or irritable
- Difficulty concentrating and focusing
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Physical restlessness like fidgeting, pacing, or an inability to sit still
There are a few common misconceptions that sometimes keep parents from getting help for their anxious child. Have you thought or heard:
- If I just let my child avoid what they are anxious about, then this will make them feel better and their anxiety will go away. While this might work temporarily, it does not usually resolve the root of the anxiety. Avoidance tends to reinforce anxiety because it teaches your child that what they are anxious about should be feared.
- You might be thinking that your child will outgrow anxiety. Some children do have a decrease in anxiety as they mature and develop, but for others, anxiety persists and even worsens.
- You might be uncomfortable talking about anxiety with your child or teen because you think it will make their anxiety worse. Some people believe that the more they discuss anxiety with their child, the more their child will feel anxious. However, allowing children to talk about their feelings and concerns is helpful because it gives them a safe space to begin to understand and cope with them.
- You might have thought about punishing your child or giving them a consequence when they are trying to avoid a situation or when they are displaying anxious behavior. Often, punishment has the opposite effect and will increase anxiety and lead to further avoidance.
- You might also think that counseling will take too long. Yes, counseling is a process and there is no magic wand or quick fix. It likely took your child a little while to get into the anxious place that they are in, and it will likely take a little bit of time to get them to a regulated place. But counseling is highly effective in treating anxiety in children and teens.
There are several approaches that a mental health professional may take to treat anxiety in children and teens. Some of the most common therapeutic approaches are:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is one of the most researched and effective treatments for childhood anxiety, and it’s my favorite! It emphasizes the importance of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
- Exposure Therapy: This technique gradually exposes children to feared situations or objects in a controlled and supportive environment. Through repeated exposure, children learn that their fears are manageable and the intensity of those fears usually decreases over time.
- Play Therapy: Especially effective for younger children, play therapy allows them to express their feelings and anxieties through play. Counselors use toys, art, or other activities to help children communicate and process their emotions.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): While originally developed for adults, modified versions of DBT have shown promise in treating anxiety in teenagers by teaching emotional regulation and coping skills.
It is also important to note that treatment should be tailored to your child’s unique needs and circumstances and may likely involve a variety of approaches. If you would like to learn more about what treatment for your anxious child or teen might look like, please click here and complete the new client form.