Child
Anxiety Disorders
Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Children
Overview
Since adolescents tend to worry about many facets of their life, diagnosing anxiety disorders in children can be difficult. But, for kids who experience extreme fear and worry that does not subside, they may be suffering from an anxiety disorder. The frequency and intensity of anxiety can severely impair a person’s functioning within their family life, work, and social environments. Fortunately, the majority of people with an anxiety disorder will improve considerably by receiving effective treatment.
Greenwich Psychology Group offers specialized and highly effective treatment modalities for adults and children with different kinds of anxiety, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), social anxiety, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Generalized Anxiety Disorders
Children with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) worry uncontrollably. Even though they try to stop thinking about their worries, they can’t. This disorder involves feelings of nervousness, tension, and underlying dread that impact your quality of life. Symptoms include the inability to relax or be by yourself, difficulty concentrating, putting things off because you feel overwhelmed, avoiding situations that make you anxious, and physical symptoms such as feeling tense, muscle tightness, sleep issues, feeling restless, stomach problems, nausea, and diarrhea.
It’s important that a child anxiety assessment is conducted to help determine the type of anxiety your child has and the best form of treatment.
Social Anxiety
Individuals with Social Anxiety deal with the fear of certain social situations, especially unfamiliar situations or in which you feel you’ll be negatively evaluated by others or will embarrass or humiliate yourself. Very often, these situations can be so scary that you simply avoid them. Underlying social anxiety disorder is the fear of being scrutinized, judged, or embarrassed in public. Symptoms may include:
- Avoiding social situations to such a degree that limits your activities or disrupts your life.
- Staying quiet or hiding in the background to escape notice and embarrassment.
- A need to always bring a ‘buddy’ along with you wherever you go or drinking before social situations to soothe your nerves.
Panic Disorder
Individuals suffering from panic disorder experience frequent, unexpected panic attacks, symptoms may include sudden surges of overwhelming anxiety and fear: your heart pounds, you can’t breathe, and you may even feel like you’re dying or going crazy.
You may worry about having panic attacks and avoid places where you had a previous episode. The effects of panic attacks can leave a lasting imprint. If you have Panic Disorder, recurrent panic attacks take an emotional toll. The memory of the intense fear and terror that you felt during the attacks can negatively impact your self-confidence and cause severe disruption to your everyday life.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors you feel compelled to perform. If you have OCD, you probably recognize that your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are irrational, but even so, you feel unable to resist them and break free. OCD causes the brain to get stuck and focus on a particular thought or urge. For example, you may excessively double-check things, spend a lot of time washing or cleaning, ordering and arranging things, or accumulate a lot of unnecessary items.
Why is Diagnosing Anxiety in Children Important?
If left untreated, anxiety disorders in adolescence can have severe consequences later in life. For example, some people who suffer from recurring panic attacks will avoid any situation they fear may trigger an attack. Such avoidance behavior may create problems by conflicting with job requirements, school obligations, or other basic activities of daily living. People who suffer from an untreated anxiety disorder may suffer from other disorders, such as depression, and they have a greater tendency to abuse alcohol and other drugs. Their relationships with family members, friends, and coworkers may become very strained, and their job performance may decline.
Treatment for Anxiety
When it comes to treating anxiety disorders, research shows that therapy is usually the most effective option. There are many different types of therapy used to treat anxiety. Our anxiety disorder specialists in CT and NY use various therapeutic modalities, including CBT, exposure therapy, DBT, interpersonal therapy, and mindfulness. Our clinicians tailor their approach to each child’s individual needs.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps individuals learn practical and highly effective skills to reduce symptoms of anxiety. CBT addresses the negative patterns and distortions in the way we look at the world and ourselves. The cognitive piece helps people change thinking patterns that support their fears, and the behavioral part helps people change the way they react to anxiety-provoking situations. For example, CBT can help people with social anxiety learn how to overcome the belief that others constantly judge them. When people are ready to confront their fears, they are shown how to use exposure techniques to desensitize themselves to situations that trigger their anxieties. Greenwich Psychology Group therapists also teach deep breathing and other exercises to relieve anxiety and encourage relaxation. To be effective, CBT must be directed at the person’s specific concerns and tailored to his or her needs.
Mindfulness-based therapy
In contrast to CBT, mindfulness-based therapies (MBTs) seek to change the relationship between the anxious person and his or her thoughts. The primary focus is on the bodily sensations that arise when a person is anxious. Instead of avoiding or withdrawing when these feelings arise, he or she remains present and fully experiences the symptoms of anxiety. Instead of avoiding distressing thoughts, he or she opens up to them in an effort to realize that they are not valid. Although it may seem counter-intuitive, this process enables anxious people to release their over-identification with negative thoughts. The person practices responding to disruptive thoughts and letting these thoughts go. MBT often involves relaxation techniques that can reduce anxiety and increase feelings of relaxation and emotional well-being when practiced regularly.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the psychological roots of an anxiety disorder. It involves self-reflection and self-examination and the use of the relationship between therapist and patient to serve as a window into problematic relationship patterns in the patient’s life. The goal is not only to alleviate symptoms but to help people lead happier lives.
Take the GPG Symptom Checker
At Greenwich Psychology Group, our symptom checker helps clients track their symptoms of depression or anxiety. Taking the assessment doesn't provide a formal diagnosis, but it can help you determine what next steps you may need to take. The evaluation uses a series of questions to review the feelings and symptoms you've experienced over the past two weeks. The results will help you distinguish if professional help is the best next step.
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