According to the CDC, approximately 5.8 million children aged 3-17 were diagnosed with anxiety between 2016-2019. If your child is facing anxiety concerns or you believe they might be, working with a child therapist can be beneficial for them and you!
What Does Child Anxiety Look Like?
While every child will experience feelings of fear or worry from time to time, when those feelings persist and begin to interfere with daily functioning – it could be that the child is experiencing anxiety. Symptoms of anxiety in children might include:
- Difficulty Sleeping
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Stomach Aches
- Difficulty Concentrating
Anxiety in children can be triggered by many factors. Our team wrote an article about these, you can read it here.
Treating Anxiety In Children
If you believe your child might be experiencing anxiety, it is important to speak with your healthcare provider, as well as a licensed mental health professional. Treatment for children with anxiety concerns will vary from case to case; your child’s counselor will work to determine the best therapeutic method for your child. At Garrett Counseling, we utilize a few different methods when working with children. These might include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This is particularly helpful with older children with anxiety. It works to replace negative thoughts with more helpful, positive thoughts.
- Play Therapy: Play Therapy allows the child to communicate is a language that is developmentally natural and appropriate for them. Through play, the child is able to communicate feelings, learn coping skills, and express their anxieties.
- Client Centered Play Therapy (CCPT): For a child experiencing anxiety, it can feel difficult for them to trust themselves or an adult figure, like a counselor. CCPT creates a space to build trust, provide acceptance, and understand worries.
- Sandplay Therapy (All counselors at Garrett Counseling are trained at Level Two Sandtray for working with children): Sandplay therapy provides children the opportunity to use creativity as a means to open up and process things that might be causing them to worry.
Garrett Counseling is an AutPlay Certified provider. Our team has extensive ongoing education in the area of ADHD. This speciality has allowed our team to provide extensive assessments of ADHD in children and adults.
Get Started Today
If your child is experiencing anxiety and you are looking for additional support, Garrett Counseling has child therapists at our locations throughout Alabama and online. To schedule an appointment, contact us at (256) 239-5662.