Your Anxious Child

Emily Edlynn, PhD is a clinical psychologist who has just published Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout & Raise Competent, Confident Children. As Emily Edlynn explains "This book gives parents a roadmap to move away from hovering and over-helping (burning us out and undermining our kids competence and confidence) to raising self-sufficent children ready for the world. We can all shift from "full service" to "self-service" in our homes by focusing on three fundamental human needs: autonomy, relatedness and competence." In this interview, Emily illustrates how we can move away from more fear based parenting which tends to be very controlling and contributes to anxiety in children to parenting that fosters competence and a sense of agency.  https://www.emilyedlynnphd.com/ She is also co-host on the podcast Psychologist off the clock and check out her interview with Jennifer Wallace author of Never Enough: When Achievemnt Culture Becomes Toxic-And What we Can do About it.  This book nicely compliments Autonomy-Supportive Parenting https://offtheclockpsych.com/toxic-achievement-culture-with-jennifer-wallace/     

      In this episode, I talk with Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD and Ruth Goldfinger Golomb about their recent book with Charles S Mansueto.  These authors have done some of most important work in developing effective treatment for BFRBs. We discuss   the key elements  ComB model for the treatment of hair pulling and skin picking. Since sensory issues are often very important in the treatment of BFRB, we also talk about Suzanne Mouton-Odum and Ruth Golomb other books on sensory dysregulation. Helping Your Child with Sensory Regulation: Skill to Manage the Emotional and Behavioral Components of Your Child's Sensory Processing Challenges by Suzanne Mouton-Odum and Ruth Goldfinger Golomb Psychological Interventions for Children with Sensory Dysregulation by Ruth Goldfinger Golomb and Suzanne Mouton-Odum   Ruth Goldfinger Golomb, LCPC can be found at http://www.behaviortherapycenter.com/new-page-2 Suzanne Mouton-Odum, PhD can be found at https://psychologyhoustonpc.com/.

The brain changes that happen as a result of pregnancy is a fascinating topic. Dr Pawluski is one of the leading authorities on this topic. We talk about her book Mommy Brain in which she discusses how the brain changes as a result of pregnancy and how the transition to parenthood does not get the recognition that it deserves. She also sets the record straight about what actually happens to a mother's memory during pregnancy. Most importantly she highlights the amazing ways the brain adapts to the task of having a child.    Jodi Pawluski, PhD is a neuroscientist who specializes in the neuroscience of motherhood and perinatal mental illness. She has a podcast Mommy Brain Revisited in which she talks to leading scientists and others about the latest thinking and research on the changes in the maternal brain as a result of pregnancy.  https://www.jodipawluski.com/mommybrainrevisited/episode/3735c11f/43-attachment-and-neural-synchrony Her website where you can also information about Dr Pawluski's webinars for parents https://www.jodipawluski.com/about And her book which is available in English and French  

https://www.drdonnahenderson.com/   In this interview I talk with Donna Henderson about autism and anxiety. Dr Henderson and Sarah Wayland with Jamell White have written two books about autism: Is This Autism: A Guide for Clinicans and Everyone Else and Is This Autism: A Companion Guide for Diagnosing.  Dr Henderson talks about how understanding some of the nonobvious ways in which autism can present itself and the unique features of anxiety in this population. 

Camilo Ortiz is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the director of clinical training at Long Island University-Post as well as maintaining a private practice. Dr Ortiz is developing a novel approach to treating childhood anxiety by providing children with opportunties to practice being independent. Everyday acts of doing things independent of adults essentially exercise the same psychological muscles that a child need to deal with anxiety. His approach has the potential to be a promising addition and at times an alternative to traditional exposure based therapy for anxiety. This approach has an accessible simplicity and leverages children natural wish to be independent and competent.  His Website is http://drcamiloortiz.com https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/opinion/anxiety-depression-teens.html https://profectusmag.com/treating-childhood-anxiety-with-a-mega-dose-of-independence/ https://letgrow.org/program/the-let-grow-project/

Chelsea Conaboy is a  journalist specializing in personal and public health. Her recent book, Mother Brain, is now available in paperback. Her book is a thoughtful and well researched discussion of the emerging neuroscience about the brain changes that occur as a result of becoming a parent. In addition, she offers an incise critique about the concept of "Maternal Instinct" and how it is fundamentally flawed and inaccurate.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/opinion/sunday/maternal-instinct-myth.html This is a major developmental period and transition which is actually similar in magnitude to the changes that occur in adolescence.  However, this sensitive developmental transition has not received the attention and recognition that truly deserves. Chelsea Conaboy has corrected this imbalance with her highly readable and thoughtful book     

https://cc.au.dk/en/recreational-fear-lab The question of why we would be drawn to movies and other material such as haunted houses is what Mathias Clasen and Marc Andersen investigate at the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University. The negative effects of children watching movies that are inappropriate for their age has received substantial attention. However, Clasen and Andersen note how all ages are drawn in different ways to scary material, and in their work they demonstrate some of benefits of this exposure. Among other things it can help us learn how to manage our fears and bring us closer together. In this interview we talk about "the threat simulation theory of horror movies" and importantly how horror movies represent one end of a continuum in which we seek to explore fear and other emotions.  They point that even in nursery or preschools books, such as We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury explore what it is like to be afraid. These safe explorations are one way in which we learn to manages anxious feelings. 

We are born with a set of primitive reflexes that are necessary for our survival but over the course of the first year should be gradually inhibited or integrated with higher cortical functions over time. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons primitive reflexes do not always get integrated as higher cotrical functions get online. Sonia Story is a leading expert on the role of primitive reflexes in contributing to a variety of mental health issues. It is an exciting area that provides a new set of interventions for children based on movement patterns.      Some helpful links to supplement the podcast How neurodevelopmental movements can help with mental health issues. https://www.moveplaythrive.com/MentalHealth   The importance of Primitive Reflexes https://www.moveplaythrive.com/learn-more/item/importance-of-integrating-reflexes   About ADHD and Primitive Reflexes https://www.moveplaythrive.com/learn-more/item/can-adhd-be-dissolved About Sonia Story's Brain and Sensory Foundation course https://www.moveplaythrive.com/OBSF1

In this interview we talk about needle phobia and pediatric pain with Dr Jody Thomas who is the Founder and Director of the Meg Foundation. The Meg Foundation is one of the primary resources to help children deal with needle phobia and pediatric pain. It is so important for parents and childen to know that something can be done to make the experience  vaccinations and blood draws less scary and painful. Dr Thomas and the Meg Foundation are the go to resource for helping parents and children cope with vaccinations and other medical procedures. In this interview Dr Thomas outlines the steps to help children with this important part of their medical care. https://www.megfoundationforpain.org/

  Bethany Saltman has written a compelling book about the science of attachment. It is a memoir of her journey into the science of attachment, a summary of what is known about attachment and the process of how this important theory was established. In this interview we talk about some of the basic features of attachment. The relationship an infant forms with their caregiver puts down a psychological foundation that biases development in certain directions. For the purpose of this podcast, we note that an insecure attachment increased the probablility of developing an anxiety disorder. However, developmental trajectories are complex and nothing is fixed in stone.  Bethany Saltman has many facets to her work, including being a writing coach and she can be found at https://www.bethanysaltman.com/strange-situationn.com