Anxiety Relief for Kids ─ On-the-Spot Strategies to Help Your Child Overcome Worry, Panic, & Avoidance

If you have a child with anxiety, you need quick, in-the-moment solutions you can easily use now to help your child face their fears and worries. Written by a psychologist and expert in childhood anxiety, this easy-to-use guide offers proven-effective cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure skills you can use at home, in social settings, or anywhere anxiety takes hold.

Being a parent is tough work. And when your child has an anxiety disorder, the tough gets upgraded to downright hard. You love your child, and it hurts to see them afraid or constantly worried. But life needs to be lived, and schedules often need to be kept—especially if your child is in school! So, how can you manage your child’s anxiety during those trying moments when you just need to get from A to B without losing your sanity?

Helping Your Child Overcome Anxiety provides quick solutions based in evidence-based CBT and exposure therapy—two of the most effective treatments for anxiety disorders. You’ll find a background and explanation of the different types of anxiety disorders, in case you aren’t sure whether or not your child has one. You’ll also learn to identify your child’s avoidant and safety behaviors—the strategies your child uses to cope with their anxiety, such as repeatedly checking their homework or asking the same questions repeatedly—as well as anxiety triggers that set your child off.

With this book, you’ll find a wealth of information regarding your child’s specific anxiety disorder and how to respond to it. For example, if your child has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the skills you use to help them are different than other anxiety disorders. No matter your child’s specific symptoms or diagnosis, you’ll discover tailored interventions you can use now to help your child thrive.

If your child has an anxiety disorder, simple, everyday activities can be a real challenge. The practical solutions in this book will help you deal with your child’s anxiety when it happens and restore balance and order to both your lives.

Bridget Flynn Walker, PhD, is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Walker received her PhD from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1991. In addition to fellowships at UCLA, Norwalk Hospital (Norwalk, CT) and Kaiser Permanente, Walker completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship with Jeffrey Martin, PhD—an anxiety disorder specialist and professor at UCSF Medical School. For the past fifteen years, Walker’s private practice has exclusively focused on assessing and treating children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety disorders and on training other mental health professionals to do the same using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Walker’s consultation and teaching services are requested by mental health professionals throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and she is frequently asked to educate and guide school professionals in San Francisco and Marin Counties. Walker works closely with a team of pediatricians at Golden Gate Pediatrics, and regularly consults with leaders of the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group.

Foreword author Michael A. Tompkins, PhD, is founding partner of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of five books, including OCD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed and Digging Out: Helping Your Loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding, and Compulsive Acquiring.