{"id":542,"date":"2020-07-24T13:29:58","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T13:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/?page_id=542"},"modified":"2024-03-14T20:07:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T20:07:48","slug":"stratagies-to-support-parenting-an-adolescent-with-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/?page_id=542","title":{"rendered":"Strategies to Support Parenting an Adolescent with Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-success\">Parenting an adolescent with anxiety can be challenging. As your client begins the process of changing her thoughts and behaviours, they will likely experience some distress and resistance. <br><br>This is a very normal reaction. Continue to support their growth and therapy by challenging and interrupting negative thought patterns, while providing comfort and reassurance when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-transform:capitalize\"><strong>Some other strategies that may be helpful to add in your report may include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>At the beginning of their therapy, your client will likely need support to identify what is anxiety and how to deal with it. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They may not be able to interrupt negative thought patterns on their own.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> If your client seems to be asking the same or similar questions repeatedly, such as \u201c<em>What will happen if\u2026<\/em>\u201d ask \u201c<em>What did I tell you the first time<\/em>?\u201d <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Anxiety, like a parasite, feeds off of constant reassurance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consider trying the <strong>FEEL method<\/strong>. When your client seems particularly anxious:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left is-style-info\"><strong>FEEL Method<\/strong><br><br>\u25a0 <strong>Freeze<\/strong> \u2013 take deep breaths together<br><br>\u25a0 <strong>Empathize<\/strong> \u2013 anxiety can be very overwhelming<br><br>\u25a0 <strong>Evaluate<\/strong> \u2013 once your client is calmer, try to come up with solutions together<br><br>\u25a0 <strong>Let go<\/strong> \u2013 let go of the conversation (no coming back to it), and let go of any guilt you as a parent may have. This is a challenging process and everyone is doing the best they can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consistent positive reinforcement is important for students with anxiety, especially those that have comorbid <a href=\"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/?page_id=343\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">attention<\/a> concerns. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is important to give your client lots of encouragement and positive praise at home and in the classroom. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provide your client with immediate and frequent reinforcement for appropriate and desired behaviours and\/or achievement (e.g., using relaxation strategies, being \u201cbrave\u201d, cooperatively engaging in non-preferred activities).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> Look for positives \u2013 no matter how small the accomplishment.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your client may benefit from an extrinsic reward system in order to increase cooperation with academic tasks and household responsibilities.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rewards can also be used to encourage your client to practice relaxation and coping strategies. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To be effective, rewards need to be powerful, frequent and varied. Examples include awarding points for completed work, token economies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your client displays some checking behaviors off, these may seem harmless, however, allowing him\/her to do so may perpetuate their anxiety.\u00a0\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consider allowing your client to check (number of times) on the weekend, and then no more. \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Try challenging their thoughts by asking, for example, \u201c<em>Has X ever happened?<\/em>\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-f168e2f7e46b1d510c0bfbae652dab3b\" style=\"color:#0a754e\"><strong>Parental Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The following are a list of books for your client\u2019s parents:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u00a0<em>Anxiety-Free Kids: An Interactive Guide for Parents and Children<\/em> (by Bonnie Zucker)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0<em>The Conscious Parents\u2019 Guide to Childhood Anxiety: A Mindful Guide to Helping your Child Become Calm, Resilient, and Secure<\/em> (by Sherianna Boyle)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nParenting an adolescent with anxiety can be challenging. As your client begins the process of changing her thoughts and behaviours,&hellip;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/?page_id=542\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Strategies to Support Parenting an Adolescent with Anxiety&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":8966,"featured_media":0,"parent":365,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-542","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8966"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=542"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3180,"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/542\/revisions\/3180"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/resourcelibrary.ucalgaryblogs.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}