Separation Anxiety Disorder Therapy for Children
What is Separation Anxiety?
It's not at all uncommon for children to experience anxiety when separated from parents, siblings or their home environment. For some kids, however, this anxiety becomes debilitating. Separation Anxiety Disorder can lead to intense symptoms in the child, school refusal and disruption to the functioning of the family as a whole. The child can begin to suffer academically as well as socially, and may start to show signs and symptoms of depression. This reaction is above and beyond what would be normally expected for most children, and parents are often left frustrated, worried and unsure how to resolve the situation.What causes Separation Anxiety?
Children who suffer from separation anxiety many times come from a close knit family and have endured some major life change such as the death of a close pet or relative. It is also commonly seen when children are placed in a new environment, such as a move into a new neighborhood or switching schools. Anything that is perceived as a threat to the security of the child's relationships or stability of home life can trigger this disorder in a child that is predisposed to experience anxiety.How common is Separation Anxiety, and how long does it last?
Anxiety is a relatively common problem for kids. About 4% of children and young adolescents experience separation anxiety disorder at some point in their childhood. In some cases it reappears when a teen is preparing for college and leads to anxiety or avoidance of it all together. The disorder tends to respond to treatment intervention relatively quickly in an otherwise healthy child.What are the signs and symptoms of Separation Anxiety?
- Recurrent excessive distress on separation from home or major attachment figures
- Homesickness
- Fears that something bad (accident or illness) will transpire in attachment figures
- Fears that he/she will be lost and never reunited with their parents
- Reluctance or refusal to go to school, camp, or sleep at a friend's house
- Nightmares
- Desire to sleep in parents' and/or siblings bed
- Physical complaints, such as stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, and headaches
Separation Anxiety Counseling
Children with this disorder must go through the process of re-learning that the world is a safe place, while protecting their perceived “attachment security”. Child therapists use a range of behavioral and attachment-based interventions to encourage, reward and build confidence. Counselors work with parents to find creative, real-world applications to the behavioral principles that help undo this learned fear response. The most beneficial aspect of therapy comes from the coping skills that the child begins to develop, which research suggests are permanent, helping them in adolescence and into adulthood. When separation anxiety develops, it can help to regularly meet with someone trained to help develop appropriate changes in thinking, behavior and in relationships that alleviate the symptoms.How do I get started?
The best place to start is to participate in an evaluation by a mental health professional. Your counselor can help diagnose separation anxiety, recommend a specific intervention, and answer questions about the process. Therapists often begin working on the problem in the very first session.If you have questions, and would like to speak to one of our mental health professionals, call or email today. We're eager to help in any way we can!
