Anxiety in children and teens does not always look like worry. It can appear as school refusal, frequent stomachaches, reassurance-seeking, perfectionism, checking or other rituals, or a family that has changed its routines to avoid distress. Treatment helps children face fears in manageable steps and helps parents respond in ways that support progress. Sessions are available in person and online.
Understanding Anxiety and OCD in Children and Teens
Anxiety and OCD are common in children and teens, and both are treatable. They involve a fear response that feels urgent, and a child's natural reaction is to avoid the feared situation or to seek relief through reassurance or rituals.
That relief is short-lived. Avoidance and reassurance tend to keep the problem going, which is why treatment focuses on gradually facing feared situations rather than avoiding them.
Concerns We Treat
Generalized Worry and Perfectionism
Persistent worry about school, performance, health, or the future, often with fear of making mistakes.
Social Anxiety
Intense fear of being judged or embarrassed, leading a child to avoid school, activities, or friendships.
Separation Anxiety and School Avoidance
Distress about being apart from parents, or difficulty going to school.
Specific Fears and Phobias
Strong fears of situations or things such as medical procedures, animals, vomiting, or storms.
Panic
Sudden episodes of intense fear with physical symptoms, and worry about having another.
OCD
Unwanted intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals, such as checking, washing, or needing things to feel "just right."
How Our Approach Works
Understanding Anxiety
Children and parents learn how anxiety and OCD work. Younger children are often helped by naming the worry and treating it as something separate from themselves.
Gradual Practice
Children take small, planned steps toward situations they have been avoiding. The child and therapist agree on each step together, and no one is pushed beyond what they are ready for.
Parent Involvement
Parents learn to respond to anxiety in ways that support progress, including how to reduce reassurance and other accommodations that keep anxiety going.
Treatment Methods
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
Helps children identify anxious thoughts, test whether they are accurate, and build coping skills.
ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention)
The first-line treatment for OCD. Children practice facing feared thoughts or situations while resisting the urge to perform a ritual, and learn they can manage the discomfort.
The SPACE Protocol
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. A parent-based program that helps parents reduce accommodation of anxiety and respond with support and confidence.
Play-Based Exposure
For younger children, games and creative play are used to practice facing worries in low-pressure ways.
What to Expect
You don't need to have it all figured out before you reach out.
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1
A Free Consultation.
We talk briefly about what your child is experiencing and match your family with a clinician whose training fits your needs.
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2
An Assessment.
Your clinician meets with you and your child to understand symptoms, history, and how anxiety affects school, friendships, and family routines.
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3
A Treatment Plan.
Treatment typically combines sessions with your child, guidance for parents, and practice between sessions. Goals are set together and reviewed regularly.
Care That Connects Across Specialties
Anxiety in a child affects the whole household. With your consent, your child's therapist can consult with colleagues across the practice so that everyone involved is supported.
- Parents who want more guidance can find it through parent-focused therapy.
- When anxiety has put strain on the family, family therapy can help everyone work together.
- Stress and tension between parents can be addressed through couples therapy.
- Parents who are coping with their own anxiety or exhaustion may benefit from therapy for anxiety and panic or therapy for depression and burnout.
- Younger children who express themselves more easily through making things may benefit from art therapy for kids.
- Questions about attention, learning, or development can be explored through psychoeducational and neuropsychological testing.
