Your Anxious Child

Amanda Stern recently published her memoir Little Panic: Dispatches From An Anxious Life, a compelling story of growing up as an anxious child. She is also the author of The Long Haul and eleven books for children written under the pseudonyms Fiona Rosenbloom and AJ Stern. In her memoir, she provides a very compelling description of what it is like to grow up struggling with anxiety. I found the way she describes how alone and different anxious children can feel very helpful and compelling

Somatic Experiencing Therapy is a type of therapy developed by Peter Levine to deal with trauma, but which is extremely relevant  helping all sorts of anxiety conditions in children. When children become anxious they often "shut down" or "freeze up" and this type of therapy has an important contribution to helping children with this part of the fight/flight/freeze response. Candy Smith is a licensed clinical professional counselor, somatic experiencing practitioner and registered play therapist as well as certified yoga instructor. She is a highly regarded therapist in translating somatic experiencing therapy into effective treatment for children. More information about Candy Smith can be found on web site candysmithcounseling.com where she has a blog and a series of videos explaining Somatic Experiencing Therapy. The videos are short and to the point, just want the busy parent and professional need.

In this interview we explore how some avoidant behavior may be a function of sensory dysregulation rather than what we typically think of an anxiety. Ruth Goldfinger Golomb and Suzanne Mouton-Odum have written Psychological Interventions for Children with Sensory Dysregulation  which discusses how children with sensory systems that either overregister or underregister sensory input can appear to be anxious. A child with a very sensitive auditory system may avoid fire alarms because of the intense sensory discomfort the sound creates rather than a fear of something bad happening. We explore this important topic in this interview. More information about Ruth Goldfinger Golomb can be found at www.behaviortherapycenter.com

Carolyn Broudy, MD is a psychiatrist who specializes in expecting parents and families with children 0-5. She is the director of The Family Connections Center in Northampton, MA (www.thefamilyconnectionscenter.com). In this interview she discusses the anxiety that natural comes with having an infant and some of the problems that parents encounter. She is an expert both infant development and in the psychological challenges of parenting.

The topic of anxiety in the preschool child is continued with an interview with Dr. Claudia Gold. She is a pediatrician and a writer and currently specializes in early childhood mental health. She is the author of The Silenced Child: From Labels, Medication and Quick-Fix Solutions to Listening, Growth and Lifelong Resilience, Keeping Your Child in Mind: Overcoming Defiance, Tantrum and other Everyday Behavior Problems by Seeing the World Through Your Child's Eyes and most recently The Developmental Science of Early Childhood: Clinical Applications of Infant Mental Concepts from Infancy Through Adolescence. More information about Dr Gold can be found on her website: claudiagoldmd.com  

Elizabeth Haske is a teacher and parent living in Sophia, Bulgaria who has just written a book for anxious children When Worry Takes Hold. In this interview we talk about her  new book which highlights the importance of mindfulness and breathing. We also discuss the special considerations needed when dealing with an anxious preschool child.