Childhood Separation Anxiety: How Therapy Can Help You

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapy is used to change the way a child learns to think. It also helps children understand their feelings of anxiety and recognized the physical symptoms they feel. It helps them find solutions to problems. All of these factors help when children can focus on the positive, which can be achieved through relaxation techniques like deep breathing and counting. Once this is accomplished, they can learn other hands-on coping strategies, such as playing games and coloring.

Behavioral Psychotherapy

Often considered the first method to try, behavior modification therapy is most often successful when a child’s behavior is handled in a positive, rather than negative, approach. For example, instead of receiving punishment for poor behavior, experts suggest parents reward their child for small victories. If a child refuses to go to bed, he or she can be praised for making steps to go to the bedroom and staying there for longer durations until he or she hops into bed and falls asleep.