With anxiety at epidemic levels among our children, Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents offers a contrarian yet effective approach to help children and teens push through their fears, worries, and phobias to ultimately become more resilient, independent, and happy.
How do you manage a child who gets stomachaches every school morning, who refuses after-school activities, or who is trapped in the bathroom with compulsive washing? Children like these put a palpable strain on frustrated, helpless parents and teachers. And there is no escaping the problem: One in every five kids suffers from a diagnosable anxiety disorder.
Unfortunately, when parents or professionals offer help in traditional ways, they unknowingly reinforce a child’s worry and avoidance. From their success with hundreds of organizations, schools, and families, Reid Wilson, PhD, and Lynn Lyons, LICSW, share their unconventional approach of stepping into uncertainty in a way that is currently unfamiliar but infinitely successful. Using current research and contemporary examples, the book exposes the most common anxiety-enhancing patterns—including reassurance, accommodation, avoidance, and poor problem solving—and offers a concrete plan with 7 key principles that foster change. And, since new research reveals how anxious parents typically make for anxious children, the book offers exercises and techniques to change both the children’s and the parental patterns of thinking and behaving.
This book challenges our basic instincts about how to help fearful kids and will serve as the antidote for an anxious nation of kids and their parents.
The only thing I would give constructive criticism on is I wish they also made a spiral bound version. This would make it easier to print of the script easier. Although i feel the flow of this book is really good, I wish the scripts were more separate from the reading text. By doing this it would make it easier to make copies when your going from “client to client”. Also maybe providing visuals aids might be helpful in understanding some of these materials.
It has been helping me tremendously & I will continue to use this book time & time again to heal from trauma. I am so thankful for the wealth of knowledge these 2 authors have shared. A must have for anyone touched by trauma!
The editors Dr. Cathy Malchiodi and Dr. David Crenshaw have co-edited a book that incorporates chapter after chapter of invaluable information to assist creative arts and play therapists in our work with children and caregivers who are dealing with attachment issues. Throughout this book the reader is provided with information on interventions from a variety of creative arts and play therapy modalities and important insights into work with specific populations. An overview of key theoretic concepts, brain research, interventions and case vignettes is integrated throughout. In every chapter this information is presented in a very comprehensive and reader friendly manner. Thank you for putting together such a valuable resource!-Mary Anne Assini, LCSW-R, RPT-S
Also see: Playing With Anxiety: Casey's Guide for Teens and Kids
by Reid Wilson PhD and Lynn Lyons LICSW
This book is structured toward older children (or adults) who do have real problems but the principles are incredibly helpful for anyone who experiences worry and anxiety. The most helpful principles I've learned is to expect worry and that it's normal in certain situations so condemning someone who feels anxious is very unhelpful. Less anxious people are not free from everyday worries but they know how to talk to their worry, so that's what an anxious person just needs to learn as well. I've also learned that worry pushes for avoidance and inaction so I am on high alert for those types of reactions in both myself and my kids.
I have responded much better toward my own worries after reading this book and am less surprised/upset when my kids express worry because I'm learning to manage/work with worry rather than eradicate it or hope it just disappears. I'm thankful to have found this book while my kids are still so young.
I highly recommend this book as it is clearly written, well organized and immediately applicable to one's clinical work. The inclusion of research on the impact of trauma on the developing brains of children and the neurobiological power of play and the creative arts deepens the therapeutic applications. The chapters on the clinical use of these therapies with at-risk populations such as foster children, cross-cultural adoptees and children with developmental trauma disorders is most welcome. I am most grateful that this valuable resource is now available!