Working with Parents of Anxious Children: Therapeutic Strategies for Encouraging Communication, Coping & Change (eBook)

Changing the parent-child dynamic to improve anxiety symptoms.The topic of anxious children is on the front burner these days, both among parents and mental health professionals, and its only gaining attention as more and more clinicians are presented with anxious kids in their practices. Anxiety symptomswhether panic, OCD, phobias, social or separation anxietyare one of the primary reasons parents seek help from a mental health professional for their child. And yet, parents may unintentionally reward or encourage the problem through their own behavior (overprotection on the one hand, punishment on the other, or avoidance of all possible anxiety-provoking situations). This book will tackle that very issue, exploring the critical parent-child dance at the center of child development and uncovering how, with the proper knowledge and tools at hand, therapists can guide parents in changing their dynamic so anxious outbursts are reduced and a childs confidence and growth are better supported.A range of techniques that therapists can teach parents will be presented, including how to change the choreographythe parent-child dynamicand how to work with goodness of fit, or temperamental differences between a parent and a child. Parent management training and parent-child interaction training strategies will also be provided.