Anxiety: What To Do If Therapy Doesn’t Help Your Kid

SUPPORT IS OUT THERE

Hopefully you are your child’s biggest champion. Even if you are the advocate for your kid with the most at stake, sometimes it’s not enough. There are times when you’ll need to seek support from therapists or other mental health professionals. 

It’s common for kids to reject the therapy. Therapy for kids is unique, and some kids and teens might not see the point of it. Additionally, not every therapist will be a good match for your kid either. Try as they might, the rapport doesn’t always come naturally.

BE PART OF THE TREATMENT TEAM

When this happens, it’s important for parents to ask some questions. Although your therapist is ethically bound to protect your kid’s confidentiality, there are ways you can work with your therapist. You know your child better than anyone. Your collaboration with the therapist (within the bounds of confidentiality) can make you a valuable member of the treatment team.

There’s more to say about it, and we diagnose the problem in this Tips on Teens video:

“My daughter is 13 and about two years ago she told me was having anxiety. We found a therapist, and she was okay with it for a while. After a few months though we stopped going because she said it was boring and all they did was play games. She said she could do that at home with me. She continues to have anxiety, so we got her a dog, but that’s not really helping the way we thought it would either. What else can we try?”