Therapist for anxiety for sixth grader - peninsula area?
Hi, we have a new sixth grader who has suddenly had a mild case of occasional anxiety develop into pretty intense school fears as he's started middle school. I'd like to get him started learning some tools ASAP but we are on the peninsula so I'm having trouble finding reccs in the archives for our area (also ok with South Bay or SF, but getting to the east bay is daunting). Any recommendations would be welcome.
Aug 27, 2019
Parent Replies
I'm sorry your middle schooler is experiencing anxiety. Both my teenagers have struggled mightily with anxiety over the course of their short lives. We live on the Peninsula, so I don't have a specific therapist to recommend. However, I will suggest that you seek out someone well versed in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and who actually uses it in treatment, not just an item on their credentials. CBT is shown to be very successful in addressing anxiety in children and adolescents. One of my children received true CBT and is managing their anxiety much more successfully than the one who received / is receiving more psychodynamic therapy from several therapists who said they used CBT techniques but did not. (Unfortunately, my children now teens refuse to see the same therapist.)
I also highly recommend the website: www.heysigmund.com for information and parent support / perspective.