Is your Child or Teen struggling with Anxiety this School Year?

The 2014-2015 school year is now in full swing. Children and teens are working on assignments, preparing for the first tests of the new year, and also trying to balance different extracurricular activities such as sports, music, theater, and scouts, just to name a few. It is important for our young people to be well-rounded and to be exposed to different experiences. However, on occasion, children and teens can become overwhelmed and anxious in the midst of everything going on in their lives.

Here at New England Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Psychiatry, we know that Anxiety comes in all different shapes and sizes. It can emerge in different circumstances, and at different times for every child or teen.

In some cases, a child or teen may have Social Anxiety brought on by the pressures to fit in with their peers at school. Other children may find that their Anxiety is brought on by test-taking and a fear of failure.

There are many different types of Anxiety, and they are each characterized by different symptoms.

• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) manifests as excessive worry over everyday matters, lasting for 6 months or more. People experiencing GAD often anticipate disaster at every moment, continuously filled with worry and concern. Although these patients may understand that their worries are unwarranted, they cannot control their anxious thoughts.
• People experiencing Social Anxiety Disorder become overwhelmingly anxious and self-conscious in everyday social situations. They may be taken over with an excessive sense of dread before a particular social event, worrying for weeks beforehand. Physical symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder can include blushing, sweating, trembling, nausea, and difficulty talking.
• Panic Disorder is often characterized by distinctly physical symptoms, emerging in sudden attacks of terror accompanied by a pounding heart, sweatiness, weakness, faintness, and dizziness.

    
If you have discovered that your child or teen is  experiencing Anxiety, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “[CBT] is very useful in treating anxiety disorders. The cognitive part helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears, and the behavioral part helps people change the way they react to anxiety-provoking situations.”[1]
    
At NECBT we have had great success in treating Anxiety using our specialized Interpersonal Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or I-CBT. I-CBT treatment is founded on the idea that treatment is more effective when a patient genuinely trusts and likes his or her therapist. Supported by the patient-therapist relationship, I-CBT is taught as a hybrid of CBT rudiments and Emotional Intelligence.
    
Treatment typically lasts approximately 16 to 20 weeks, although with more severe cases of Anxiety, treatment can last much longer. Individual treatment is incorporated with Groups, and in certain cases, Medication Management. In most cases, our treatment plans for children and teens also includes involving parents in our Behavioral Training seminars to equip them with the tools to help reinforce at home what children and teens are learning in individual session. Each session corresponds with our workbook and self-help assignments to help children and teens reach their goals and stay on track. We monitor patient progress using assessments throughout the course of treatment.

    
In addition to the types of Anxiety listed above, NECBT has I-CBT-trained therapists knowledgeable in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Stress Management. We have been very successful in our work with children, teens, adults, and families.

If your child or teen is struggling with Anxiety, we can help.

Please call our office at 860-430-5515 to learn more about our treatment, and to schedule an appointment.

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[1] National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Anxiety Disorders. Retrieved April 14, 2014 from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml.