Helping Children Cope with Anxiety
Does your child struggle with anxiety, fears, or obsessive thoughts? Parenting an anxious child can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to face it alone. With the right help, you can learn how to effectively support your child while fostering their independence and resilience. As a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in childhood anxiety, I use the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) program to empower parents like you to help their children thrive.
Let’s schedule a free phone consultation to answer your questions and see if I am the right fit for your family.
What is SPACE?
SPACE is a highly effective, evidence-based treatment program developed at the Yale Child Study Center by Dr. Eli Lebowitz. Unlike traditional therapy, SPACE focuses on empowering parents to support their children’s journey toward managing anxiety, OCD, and related challenges.
In SPACE, parents—not children—participate in treatment sessions, learning specific strategies to create meaningful change in their child’s emotional well-being.
Some of the anxiety challenges treated with SPACE include:
Separation Anxiety: Fear of being apart from parents or caregivers
Social Anxiety: Avoidance of social situations or fear of judgment
Generalized Anxiety: Worries about a wide range of everyday issues
Fears and Phobias: Specific fears, such as animals or the dark
Selective Mutism: Difficulty speaking in certain social situations
Panic Disorder: Intense fear or panic attacks
How SPACE Works
Personalized Support for Parents: Work one-on-one with a licensed therapist to understand anxiety patterns and identify accommodations that may hinder your child’s growth.
Step-by-Step Plan: Implement gradual changes that help your child practice coping with fears while feeling supported and safe.
Ongoing Guidance: Receive expert strategies, tools, and encouragement to ensure progress and build a strong foundation for your child’s emotional health.
How SPACE Helps Children with Anxiety
SPACE has been shown to effectively reduce anxiety in children and adolescents without requiring them to attend therapy sessions. When parents implement SPACE techniques, children experience:
Reduced anxiety symptoms
Improved coping skills
Better emotional resilience
The SPACE approach teaches parents two key skills:
Supportive Responses: Learn to respond to your child’s anxiety with understanding and encouragement, promoting their independence and resilience.
Reducing Accommodations: Identify and reduce unhelpful accommodations you may be making to ease your child’s anxiety, which can inadvertently reinforce their fears.
Through personalized guidance, parents gain the tools to help their children feel less anxious and function more confidently in everyday life.
Why Choose this Approach?
Parent-Focused Therapy: Our unique SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) program works directly with parents, providing effective tools to reduce anxiety-driven behaviors without requiring direct child participation.
Evidence-Based Methods: Studies show SPACE therapy is as effective as traditional child-focused treatments for anxiety disorders, including OCD, separation anxiety, and social anxiety.
Practical & Supportive: Learn step-by-step how to reduce accommodations that reinforce anxiety while building your child’s confidence to face their fears.
Why Work with Parents?
This isn’t about blame. Your child’s anxiety is not a reflection of your parenting.
When children experience anxiety, parents naturally make accommodations to help ease their fears. These actions come from a place of love and support. However, over time, these well-intentioned adjustments can unintentionally reinforce anxiety.
This doesn’t mean you caused their anxiety or did anything wrong. It simply means that different strategies are needed. Together, we’ll explore and practice new approaches that empower you to support your child’s growth, resilience, and emotional well-being.
Meet Your Therapist: Anna Diamantis
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Connecticut since 2009 with a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology and Certified in Perinatal Mental Health. I began my training in community mental health in suburban Chicago working with children, adults, and families in acute crisis and individuals with chronic mental illness.
One of my specialty areas is working with parents of anxious children through the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) program. This evidence-based approach focuses on empowering parents to support their child’s journey toward managing anxiety and building resilience.
Let’s Chat
I’d love to help answer all your questions and see if we might be the right fit. Let’s schedule a free phone consultation to discuss your child’s needs and explore how I can support you in this journey. Together, we can find the tools and strategies that work best for your family.
FAQs
Q: How long does SPACE treatment take?
A: While each family’s situation is unique, SPACE typically involves 12 weekly sessions, each lasting between 60 to 90 minutes. During these sessions, parents will gain a deeper understanding of their child’s anxiety, learn new tools and techniques, and practice applying them in real-life situations.
Q: Can SPACE work if my child doesn’t participate in the therapy?
A: Yes! The program is specifically designed to focus on parental behavior and interactions. By making small but impactful adjustments to the way parents respond to their child’s anxiety, SPACE creates positive changes that can improve the child’s overall well-being. Parents are central to this process, and their support can lead to lasting, meaningful improvements.
Q: What ages does the SPACE program support?
A: The SPACE program is designed to support children and young adults, typically ranging from age 6 through young adulthood.