Our experienced child therapists draw from age-appropriate approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness exercises, and play therapy for younger children. Childhood anxiety treatment focuses on helping your child recognize the physical signs, thoughts, and feelings that trigger anxiety while developing relaxation skills to induce a sense of calm and comfort. Your child’s therapist will also teach your child effective problem-solving skills, in order to respond to stressful situations with more clarity and confidence. Your therapist can help identify any self-limiting beliefs that may have been hindering your child’s confidence, replacing those with a more realistic, positive and empowering lens.
Your child therapist can also provide you with parental guidance and support. At Waterford Counseling, our therapists recognize the needs of the entire family, and thus equip parents with education, tools and strategies to reduce stress and undue strain. Your therapist will offer strategies to you as a parent to use on a daily basis as well as in the moments when heightened anxiety consumes your child. You can develop skills to help your child self-regulate his or her emotions, calm down, and view situations more positively and practically.
It is often said, “Small child, small problem. Big child, big problem.” Seeking early intervention while your child is young can prevent counterproductive patterns from becoming entrenched while providing your child with valuable, lifelong coping skills. With the right approach and therapist, both you and your child can become better equipped to deal with difficult emotions and handle the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence. Getting support and strategies in place now can not only help your child feel and function better sooner, but it can also set the stage for your child’s long-term mental, emotional and academic success.