How Big Is Your Child's Fear?

A lot of children are anxious these days. In fact, anxiety is the most common mental

health diagnosis in the United States for children ages 3-17, according to the U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to 2022 data, 11 percent of children at that time were currently diagnosed

with anxiety, and 20 percent of adolescents experienced anxiety symptoms in the

previous two weeks, when asked in a 2021-2023 survey.

So, what can we do to help? Play therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy are two

great ways to serve children with anxiety. Client-centered play therapy allows children to

be in charge of the playroom. They decide what they will play with, how they will play,

and the therapist follows their lead, identifying and reflecting their thoughts, actions and

emotions. This grows children’s confidence and allows them to play out themes of risk-

taking, winning and losing, and power and control, to name just a few.

CBT is also effective in identifying and taming anxiety. One of my favorite tools was

created 10 years ago by Jill D. Kuzma after the first Inside Out movie was released by Pixar. She created a Likert scale for children to measure their emotions. I use this to help children identify what their biggest fears are, what makes them a little bit worried and what makes them REALLY worried. We can explore together the way fear (or other emotions like anger, joy, sadness and disgust) feels in their bodies. Children can use these cues to know when a feeling is getting stronger and how to respond in a healthy manner.

If your child is experiencing anxiety that interferes with their school performance, daily functioning or social relationships, these are just some tools that can help.

Please reach out to KS Services for a free 15-minute consultation.