Your Anxious Child

David Russ, PhD is a clinical psychologist  specializing in anxiety disorders and is the founding partner of the Carolinas Counseling Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. He and Christopher T McCarthy created the audio program for children Turnaround: Turning Fear into Freedom which I have to be a very useful resource for anxious children. He and Anna S. Christie have written Emetophobia: Understanding and Treating Fear of Vomiting in Children and Adults . For the purposes of this podcast, Dr Russ e-book for children, Emetophobia: The Ultimate Kids' Guide available as a kindle book is a must have for parents and children.  Emetophobia is a very common but understudied phobia. Dr Russ is one the leading authorities on the treatment of Emetophobia  and he generously shares his wisdom about treating this condition in our discussion   Links to Dr Russ and Emetophobia are listed below https://carolinascounseling.info/david https://emetophobia.net/

In this podcast, I talked with Dr Gordon Flett about the psychology of mattering, a topic in which he has been a leader in the field. Mattering is a core component of one's self concept which refers to a genral sense of being significant, and valued in our relationships. A felt sense of mattering is a strongly protective factor against a variety stressors. Conversely, the absence of mattering has been associated with depression and suicidal ideation. A sense of mattering becomes especially relevant  during the adolescent years as fitting in with peers becomes so important The importance of mattering is an idea that immediately resonates with many people and is the  theme in movies such as It's a Wonderful Life and Mr Holland's Opus. Unfortunately, in keeping with the crisis in youth mental health, survey data suggest that about 30% of adolescents do not feel or are not certain that they matter to anyone. So this is obviously an important topic for us to consider Dr Flett has written two books on the psycholog

Lisa Danahy is a registered  yoga therapist  who recently published Creating Calm in Your Classroom: A Mindfulness-Based Movement Program for Social-Emotional Learning in Early Childhood Education. She also directs www.CreateCalm.org a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational programming for schools, teachers, children and special populations. Although her book is focused on the classroom, it is actually quite appropriate for families and health care professionals. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the energy level of the child in front of you and what their body  may need in order to function optimally. In her book, she has a series of movement exercises appropriate to the different energy levels a child may show especially around transitions. In the interview, we talk movement/breathing exercises appropriate for a child who is afraid of throwing up and has just gone to the nurses office and several other situations.  Her book can be found at https://amzn.to/4jOI4W1 The movement exercises

Claudia Gold, M.D. is a developmental pediatrician who has just published her fifth book Getting to Know You: Lessons in Early Relational Health From Infants and Caregivers. She has previously been on this podcast when we talked about her book The Developmental Science of Early Childhood (2017). Dr Gold discusses how early infant-caregiver relationship serve as a prototype for all the relationships that follow. She talks about the importance of just observing your infant and that relationships are always messy. As a pediatrician she is well versed in practical advice, however in this interview and in her book she talks about what do when nothing seems to work. She illustrates how taking a stance of "not knowing" can often help relationship heal and move on

Anna Scetinina, MACP, RP is a psychotherapist in Toronto, ON Canada who has just written A Workbook for Kids Who Worry: 50 Ways to Stand Up To Worry. She is also an award-winning professional artist whose pictures delightfully illustrate the ideas in the workbook She discusses how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can be used to help anxious children. Her workbook will provide parents, children and therapist with a range of activities that will help children build the skills to tame anxiety.   

Heather White is the founder of OneGreenThing.org. She has spent over 20 years as a climate activist, including serving as presidential campaign staffer for Al Gore. She has published three books on climate change: One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet, Eco-Anxiety: Saving Our Sanity, Our Kids, and Our Future and 60 Days to a Greener Life: Ease Eco-anxiety Through Joyful Daily Action Heather provides an invitation to discover how you can participate in solving the most pressing issue of our time by exploring what your service "superpower" might be. Heather infuses an energy and optimism to the topic of climate changes that we all can take inspiration from. 

Lenka Glassman, PsyD has just published What To Do When You Panic: A Kid's Guide to Transforming Panic Into Personal Power She has also written a book for middle school children How to Master Your Mood in Middle School She is a clinical psychologist practicing in Bethesda MD and can be found at drlenkaglassman.com Her workbook fills a much needed gap in helping children with intense feelings that really take over. She delightfully engages her school age audience with using "magic tricks" to tame panic such "magic breathing", and  paradoxically doing the opposite of what "panic" wants. Parents will feel more confident handling tough moments after reading this book. 

Ellen Hendriksen, PhD has just published her second book, How To Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists. I talked previously with Dr Hendrikson on this podcast on 1/30/2023 after she published her first book, How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety. In both podcasts, you will find her eloquent and deeply informative. In this podcast we talk about perfectionism and social anxiety. Her new book is fun to read and deeply informative on the topic of perfectionism. She describes the alarming increase in perfectionism and the 7 shifts that are needed to develop a more balanced life.  For more information about Dr Hendrikson https://www.ellenhendriksen.com/    

Climate change and the anxiety children may experience learning about it, is a challenging topic. Leslie Davenport is a climate psychology educator and therapist. She has just written What to Do When Climate Change Scares You: A Kid's Guide to Dealing with Climate Change Stress for ages 6-11. For tweens and up she had previously published All The Feelings Under the Sun: How To Deal Climate Change. In this podcast, Leslie Davenport explores some the complex issues around climate change, how we maintain hope in the face of some very serious facts, and how we can help children struggling with this issue.  For more information about Leslie Davenport https://lesliedavenport.com/  

Tovah P. Klein, PhD is an adjunct associate professor of psychology at Barnard College and director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development. She has written two books and published numerous journal articles. Her first book, How Toddlers Thrive is absolutely one of my favorite books. She helps us decode toddler behavior which can often be quite baffling and confusing.  Her most recent book Raising Resilience could not be more timely. It is about how to do help parent children so that they can deal with uncertainty and adversity. Her knowledge of young children brings fresh insights into what  children of all ages, need from us in order to thrive in a very uncertain world.  https://howtoddlersthrive.com/

Melanie McNally, PsyD has just published Helping Your Unmotivated Teen: A Parent's Guide to Unlock your Child's Potential. She was seeing a lot of parents complain about how their teens appeared lazy and what she found was it was really a problem in motivation. Dr McNally talked with me about how to think about motivation and what goes into it,  She talks about how motivation involves three skillsets: drive, grit and goals and then how to address difficulties with skillset Dr McNally is a licensed clinical psychologist  who is also the author of The Emotionally Intelligent Teen. You can learn about Dr McNally at her website https://www.destinationyou.net/

PDA or Pathological Demand Avoidance, alternatively also called Persistent Demand for Autonomy is a topic that is getting increasing attention in the United States. Ruth Fidler and Diane Gould have just published Navigating PDA in America In this interview, I talk with Diane Gould, LISCW, who founded the PDA North America in 2020, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about this condition. PDA is viewed as a type of autism in which ordinary demands of everyday life are experienced as a threat and consequently fought against. In this interview, Ms Gould explains this complex condition and how parents can respond to it. For more information about PDA https://pdanorthamerica.org/

Anna Housley Juster has just published a delightful book How to Train Your Amydgala, illustrated by Cynthia Cliff. In this interview we talk about her book and how to use it effectively with children. This children's book talks about how befriend the amydgala, our first responder to any threat or danger, and how to talk it down from any false alarm. A book which is both accessible to any child and accurate with regard to the latest neuroscience is going to be an important addition to the books I share with families. A helpful resource for all children but especially for those who struggle with anxiety Anne Housley Juster, PhD, LICSW is a licensed mental health clinician and education consultant. Among the many things Dr Juster has done, she was for many years as the director of content for Sesame Street.

In this interview, I talk with Peter Vermeulen about his hypothesis that context blindness is the primary feature of autism. This is a perspective that I think beautifully explains some of the unusual fears and phobias that autistic individuals and thus significantly enlarges our understanding of autism and anxiety. His most recent book with Kobe Vanroy is What Really Works for Children with Autism written especially for parents and teachers. Dr Vermeulen has written over 15 books on autism and is an internationally recognized expert on this topic.  More information about Dr Vermeulen can be found at https://petervermeulen.be/

If you have had more than one child, it is very hard not to realize how important temperament is when it comes to children. It certainly plays a role in the development of anxiety disorders. In today's episode I talk with Drs Lengua and Gartstein about how we need to take temperament into account in raising our children. It is such an important topic that can such a difference in raising our children and helping  us really see them as the individuals they are.   Liliana J. Lengua, PhD and Maria A. Gartstein, PhD have just published Parenting with Temperament in Mind: Navigating The Challenges and Celebrating Your Child's Strengths Dr Lengua is Martiz Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, Director of the Center for Child and Family Well-Being. She is the author of over 150 published articles on the effects of stress and adversity on children. For more information about Dr Lengua https://ccfwb.uw.edu/team/liliana-lengua/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/contributors/liliana-j-lengua-phd

Paul DePompo, PsyD, ABPP and Cassandra Moore, LMFT have written Tic'd: a child's guide to defeating tics. Dr DePompo is the founder of the Cogntive Behavioral Therapy Institute of Southern California. Cassandra Moore, LMFT is in private practice specializing in Tourette Disorder, ADHD, mood disorder and and anxiety disorders.  They have written a very practical and helpful book for children dealing with a tic disorder. The authors provide an easy to follow sequence of steps to implement, CBIT (Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics) the most effective non-medication treatment for Tourette's Syndrome. It is a resource that clinicians, parents and children will find very helpful. Listen to this podcast and you see why I am so positive about this book For more information  https://getticd.com/

Danielle Dick, PhD is the distinguished Commonwealth Professor of Psychology and Human and Molecular Genetics at Virgina Commonwealth University. She is an internationally recognized expert on genetic and environmental  influences on human behavior.  In this interview, we talk about her book The Child Code. In this book, she provides a interesting review on how genes influence behavior, spoiler alert-there isn't a gene for anxiety-it is more complicated. But more importantly from a parenting perspective, she provided a convenient way of thinking about temperament, what she called the 3 E's and quizes to help you figure out where you and your child are on this dimension. Importantly, she notes that we have to adjust our parenting style to match the temperament of your child. The Child Code is an extremely useful book for parents that is grounded in very solid science.   For more informaton about Dr Dick and access to her online resources for you to explore your child's genetic code. https://r.search.yahoo.com

Dr Sherryse Corrow is a professor of psychology at Bethel University in St Paul University, Minnesota. She is talking  with me today about her research into face-blindness or Prosopagnosia. Developmental Prosopagnosia is a condition that has been estimated to effect 1 in 50 with very profound implications for those with this condition. Quite simply, the world is going to be a much more anxious place if you can't identify faces. Dr Corrow explains how this condition shows up in children, how adults can begin to identify it and some of the research into Prosopagnosia. Dr Corrow can be reached at shc62369@bethel.edu https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrEsGa8E3tmCAQA0wtXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1720551613/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.bethel.edu%2facademics%2ffaculty%2fsherryse-corrow/RK=2/RS=_KLD0xt2y42lz5iqMfMNY5NlAHI- A link to where she summarizes her research in more scientific terms https://youtu.be/4n8_upaJMxI?si=NHHewNFR6vXDO91S and for a reference mentioned in the podcast https:

Kiley Hanish, OTD, PMH-C is a neurodivergent occupational therapist specializing in mental health during the perinatal period which includes pregnancy, postpartum and perinatal loss. She has coauthored "Descriptive Study of the Sensory Experiences of Autistic Mothers as Occupational Beings". Recognizing that the majority of autistic individuals experience sensory processing challenges, this study looks at the challenges autistic mothers face in the transition to parenting. Becoming a parent is an intense experience from a sensory standpoint at each point in the journey. In this interview Dr Hanish describes some of the challenges autistic mothers face and the implications for health care. It is a fascinating topic which has not received the attention it deserves.  For more information about Dr Hanish: https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrEqxvcx2hmIjoBfepXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1719352541/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.drkileyhanish.com%2f/RK=2/RS=8BPfR.zToOrMxj_B.c1WCsPKSFI- And for

Jonathan Dalton, PhD is a licensed psychologist who is the founder and director of the Center for Anxiety and Behavioral Change in Rockville, MD. He specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. He is a sought after speaker and passionate advocate of public education concerning mental health issues. In this podcast, Dr Dalton explains anxiety may present differently in neurodivergent children. While a decrease in parental accommodation is a central part of the treatment in neurotypical children, Dr Dalton points how accommodations to the sensory sensitivity of neurodivergent can be a critical part helping the child. Listen to this podcast to learn some practical interventions and also the thoughtfulness required in helping these children. Dr Dalton has a way of presenting methaphors that I think you will also enjoy   Dr Dalton can be found at: https://changeanxiety.com/about-us/ His recent master class "Understanding Anxiety: A Strength-Based Perspective" can be found at https