The Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
Andrea Victor, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of children with anxiety disorders.
All children, and all adults for that matter, have anxious or fearful moments. But the child with an anxiety disorder is prey to catastrophic struggles and sense of dread. “What if Mom drops me at soccer practice and never comes back?” “What if my dog gets stolen out of the yard?” “What if Dad gets that terrible disease that I heard about on TV?”
Children with anxiety disorder are often tense and on high-alert. They may have trouble falling asleep, have frequent stomach aches, throw tantrums over trivial matters, or seek reassurance over and over on seemingly minor issues. It may be difficult for children with an anxiety disorder to concentrate or sit still in school, so they may be misdiagnosed as having a problem with attention.
Dr. Victor has a great deal of empathy for her young patients. “Even when a child knows rationally that what he or she fears won’t happen, it feels as if it will. Some children develop elaborate behaviors such as cleaning, checking, or counting, to ward off what they fear.”
These obsessive compulsive disorders can appear so bizarre that children are sometimes misdiagnosed as having far more severe problems.
“Because anxiety may cause such distress,” Dr. Victor adds, “parents are prone to yield and let children avoid the things they worry about. But that sends the message, ‘You’re right. You can’t handle it.’ By using cognitive behavioral therapy, we change the message to, ‘You’re safe. You can handle this.’
“I begin treatment by explaining that anxiety tricks kids into believing things that aren’t real or true. Then, I teach a child to rationally assess the likelihood of his or her fears. We practice relaxation techniques, because it’s hard to feel anxiety when the body is relaxed. Then we break the situation the child avoids into each of its components, so that each part of the problem can be overcome in smaller steps. The child learns that the outcome they dread does not occur.”
“It’s great to be able to help children who are exhausting themselves with these terrible fears.” Dr. Victor adds. “Fortunately, we have real success treating anxiety.”
If you are concerned that your child is struggling with an anxiety disorder and would like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Victor, please call RNBC at (847) 933‑9339.