Our child therapists offer a calm, safe space for children experiencing anxiety. At Union Square Practice, we approach anxiety treatment holistically, gently investigating to understand the bigger picture so we can suggest the best strategies for your child and your family. Therapy for children and teens with anxiety is available at our NYC offices near Midtown Manhattan as well as by telehealth across New York State. We provide medication management in coordination with therapy, as appropriate to the situation.
Each child is unique, and anxiety symptoms vary considerably. Outward signs your child needs help for anxiety include the following:
Sometimes children can articulate what makes them feel anxious, or parents can connect the dots from observation. Other times it’s not so clear. Maybe the child dreads going to school, but they don’t want to talk about why, or aren’t entirely sure why.
Union Square Practice child therapists work collaboratively to discover an individual child’s sources of anxiety. We work to establish trust with the child and listen carefully to the clues they give us about what’s worrying them. We meet separately with their parent(s) or primary caregiver to assemble a clearer picture of the situation. Sometimes we request permission to speak with additional caregivers in the child’s life, such as teachers, to gather additional perspective. Once we understand the child and their situation better, we customize the therapy plan to fit.
Some parents are quick to blame themselves for their child’s anxiety. In fact, child or adult, each individual’s mental health is a complex blend of psychological, biological, and social factors. Therapy doesn’t work by assigning blame, but rather by understanding contributing causes in order to make positive changes.
Many external factors can cause or increase anxiety for children, including academic or extracurricular challenges, peer social dynamics, and life transitions such as moving or changing schools. Parents cannot and should not control all possible causes of anxiety in their child’s life, but they can learn how to better support the child to feel calmer, more grounded, and better equipped to cope.
There may be household dynamics or parenting approaches affecting your child’s anxiety level, or simple ways to minimize some stressors in their life. Whatever the case, our therapists are excited to work with you and your child to better support their mental health.
Every individual’s situation is more complicated than a label or diagnosis, but there are some broad anxiety categories that might describe your child’s behavior:
Social anxiety involves extreme self-consciousness and fear of being embarrassed, judged, or misunderstood. This anxiety can be broad, or it can be specific to situations (for instance, being called upon in class) or people (peers at school, but not adults or another peer group).
Separation anxiety results in regular extreme distress over separation from a primary caregiver. The child may worry about the caregiver’s safety, their own, or both, or fear that they will not see the caregiver again.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) causes intrusive thoughts that create overwhelming compulsions to engage in specific repetitive behaviors. Children with OCD might clean themselves or their possessions excessively, count items or actions compulsively, touch or tap things in a patterned manner, check and re-check things over and over (for instance, that doors are locked), or need to arrange items in very specific ways.
Phobias are irrational or disproportionate fears of specific objects or situations. Phobias can be relatively inconsequential — for instance, many people deeply fear snakes, but most can also avoid them. If a child’s phobias disrupt everyday life or cause significant distress, specific therapies can help.
Whatever form their anxiety takes, our therapists are ready to greet your child with warm, compassionate, expert care.
Generalized anxiety is a state of excessive worry about a broad range of everyday things (school, peer relationships, personal safety, etc.). A child with generalized anxiety might fixate on worst-case scenarios or regularly feel a sense of dread or foreboding.
Social anxiety involves extreme self-consciousness and fear of being embarrassed, judged, or misunderstood. This anxiety can be broad, or it can be specific to situations (for instance, being called upon in class) or people (peers at school, but not adults or another peer group).
Separation anxiety results in regular extreme distress over separation from a primary caregiver. The child may worry about the caregiver’s safety, their own, or both, or fear that they will not see the caregiver again.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) causes intrusive thoughts that create overwhelming compulsions to engage in specific repetitive behaviors. Children with OCD might clean themselves or their possessions excessively, count items or actions compulsively, touch or tap things in a patterned manner, check and re-check things over and over (for instance, that doors are locked), or need to arrange items in very specific ways.
Phobias are irrational or disproportionate fears of specific objects or situations. Phobias can be relatively inconsequential — for instance, many people deeply fear snakes, but most can also avoid them. If a child’s phobias disrupt everyday life or cause significant distress, specific therapies can help.
Children and adults alike experience stress and some anxiety in everyday life. This is normal and even beneficial — having no fears is itself a mental health disorder. Furthermore, every child has to navigate a common set of stressful circumstances as they transition to adolescence, and then to adulthood. How do you know when it’s growing pains, and when it’s time to get help?
If your child’s anxiety symptoms are impairing everyday functioning, therapy is a good next step. For instance, if the child strongly resists or refuses to go to school or other activities, it’s time to get help. But you don’t need to wait until symptoms are extreme. Therapy is also a positive early intervention, offering an anxious child effective coping strategies to mitigate their anxiety before it reaches an extreme level.
Medication is not typically a first-line treatment for childhood anxiety. The first step to addressing a child’s anxiety concerns is talking to a therapist, who will do an in-depth evaluation to understand the child’s personality, history, and current context. Anxiety might be the primary concern, but it is also a common symptom of other mental health issues.
If your child’s therapist suspects a co-occurring condition, for instance ADHD, they may suggest neuropsychological testing and evaluation to explore this further. Depending on the results, they may recommend meeting with one of our psychiatric professionals to discuss medication options. Throughout this process, our goal is to maintain a collaborative relationship with our child clients and their parents. Medication for a child or teen is a serious decision, and we fully respect the parents’ right to choose what’s best for their child.
Yes, our child and adolescent clinicians have extensive experience working with children who struggle with anxiety and common intersecting challenges. Additionally, our practice is a team, not just a collection of individual practitioners. We meet regularly and discuss our strategies, specialties, and the current research in our fields. This allows us to seek help from colleagues to better pinpoint issues and develop targeted treatment plans. Our goal is to discover what works for your child within your family context, and our vast in-house network of professional expertise helps us do this.
Union Square Practice is a group of psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists who empower individuals to be the best versions of themselves using the latest science has to offer.
If your child or teen is struggling with anxiety, expert child-centered care is available to help them feel better. Our therapists counsel children and adolescents at our NYC offices in Midtown Manhattan, as well as via telehealth across greater New York. We look forward to collaborating with you to provide your child the best possible care, offering solutions that support your family’s goals and values.
Reach out to us using any of the contacts below or our general contact form.
