Anxiety disorders are common mental health conditions that often manifest in childhood and adolescence. While it can be alarming to see your child struggle with anxiety, it's important to know that anxiety disorders can be well-managed with the right treatment and allow your child to live a full life. This guide is meant to be informative, answer common questions about anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, and provide resources for parents and families.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a unique, evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention with an emphasis on acceptance, mindfulness, self-compassion, and connecting to a grounded sense of self. The goals of ACT center on increasing distress tolerance instead of decreasing distress and symptoms (but it happens anyway). It aims to increase psychological flexibility, defined as the ability to be in and aware of the present moment while changing or persisting in behaviors that serve one’s values.

One of the most impactful and beneficial things parents can do for their child is to spend regular and intentional one-on-one time with them. Spending one-on-one time with your child will:

• Increase closeness and warmth between you and your child

• Strengthen the parent-child relationship

• Give your child positive parental attention

• Make your child feel important to you

• Increase your child’s self-esteem

• Decrease negative attention-seeking behaviors

• Give your child space to talk to you about things that may be hard to talk about in other settings

• Allow you to tune in to their world