“What are the treatment options for childhood anxiety?”

As I have mentioned the very best treatment for both anxiety and depression is physical exercise preferably out door if possible..

Childhood anxiety is very common and have been successfully treated. For mild cases a therapist can make a big difference in a few sessions. For severe, debilitating anxiety there are safe, FDA. approved medications.

There can be diverse treatment options to treat childhood anxiety from age appropriate coping skills, expressive arts therapy, play based therapy, exposure therapy, CBT and DBT. Interventions for treatment are often determined after assessment with a mental health professional to determine the most suitable interventions, as others factors such as age of child, cognitive abilities, environmental factors, ect, will also need to be explored.

Hello Concerned Mom, There are a number of approaches to the treatment of anxiety in children. Although I treated the developmental spectrum during the course of my career, I have not treated school-aged children for quite some time. So, you may want to check out my suggestions with those professionals who are actively treating children at this time who will be using the latest developed strategies and techniques. The first considerations are the age and natural temperament of the child. In todays two-working-parent families and single parent families, the youngest of children can have a strong aversion to separating from their parent(s) for long interims, with the parents hoping their child and children will get use to it. If the child and parent(s) have long separations this may be a prominent genesis for anxiety on the part of both the child and parent. A child and / or Family therapist may provide counseling and helpful recommendations, and, with written authorization to do so, consult with the day-care or pre-school personnel to be most helpful. With early school-aged children, anxiety can be general, that is, manifested across contexts, or, specific, that is, limited to certain contexts or in the presence of certain peers and adults. For those young children suffering from generalized anxiety, those with highly sensitive and reactive temperaments, a comprehensive format which enables learning to help the child self-soothe and calm themselves, with training designed to provide the child a sense of competence and self confidence when in the contexts which elicit anxious responses, help the child cope more adaptively. There are very simple self-soothing and self-relaxing game-like techniques children can do to help them feel less physically anxious. Having a range of social and emotional skills designed to help the child cope with circumstances or others which trigger anxiety invites the child to conquer anxiety with their own set of skills, which become more effective as they practice them. I like therapists and counselors who work with the child and the parent(s) in the following way. Having the child have some alone time with the therapist or counselor and some time with parent and child working together. The older children become and the more intense the anxiety, it is a wise parent that tries to obtain help. Usually, the experience of therapist/counselor and chemistry between client(s) and therapist/counselors are the two factors which contribute to a more successful outcome.