You want to help your anxious child but you aren't sure how
Maybe you’ve noticed your child becoming more afraid or avoidant of people, places, and activities that used to be non-issues. Perhaps you feel tired from providing excessive amounts of reassurance to your child about whatever they are worried about but no amount of reassurance seems to help. You’ve probably noticed some of your routines and activities have changed in an effort to lessen your child’s distress and anxiety. All you know is that you feel helpless watching your child become more fearful and losing their independence because of anxiety.
You are not alone
As a parent myself, I know what it is like to watch a child struggle with anxiety and feel unsure about how to help. Even after taking the important first steps, such as speaking with your child’s primary care provider or connecting them with a counselor, it can still feel difficult to know what to do at home.
You may be wondering how to support your child in a way that is truly helpful, especially when reassurance, reminders, or encouragement do not seem to reduce their anxiety. Many treatments for childhood anxiety focus primarily on the child, which is important, but parents are often left needing more guidance and support.
This is where SPACE treatment can help. SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. It is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related challenges.
- Helps parents understand their child’s anxiety cycle
- Supports parents in reducing unhelpful accommodation patterns
- Focuses on what parents can control in their own responses
- Provides practical tools for supporting anxious children at home
- Can be helpful when a child is unwilling or unable to participate in therapy
If you are tired of trying to control or force your child to act differently, SPACE treatment may be a good fit. This approach is based on the idea that when parents focus on changing their own behaviors, rather than trying to control their child’s behavior, they can indirectly help reduce their child’s anxiety.
About SPACE treatment for anxiety and OCD
SPACE treatment involves a collaboration between the therapist and parent. The therapist acts as a consultant, coach, and guide while helping parents understand how anxiety works and how their responses may unintentionally keep the anxiety cycle going.
Together, the parent and therapist create a strategic plan to reduce accommodations and increase supportive responses.
- Learn how anxiety and OCD show up in your child’s daily life
- Identify ways you may be unintentionally accommodating anxiety
- Develop a clear plan to reduce accommodations gradually
- Practice supportive communication that builds confidence
- Strengthen your ability to respond calmly and consistently
- Help your child move toward more independence over time
One benefit of SPACE treatment is that it does not require the child to participate directly in therapy. This can be especially helpful when children are resistant to counseling, unable to engage consistently, or when child therapists have long waiting lists.
Working with your therapist, you will learn practical concepts and strategies that you can begin using at home to support your child and help reduce anxiety patterns over time.
Key Concepts of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions
- Anxiety as an interpersonal phenomenon — understanding that anxiety affects the whole family system, and that you are not to blame.
- Accommodations — learning how to differentiate between responses that are helpful and responses that may unintentionally fuel the anxiety cycle.
- Personal boundaries — maintaining healthy boundaries that support both your child’s growth and your family’s well-being.
- Parental support — finding the sweet spot between being overprotective and being over-demanding.
Through SPACE, you as the parent of an anxious child or adolescent will:
- have greater awareness of how anxiety is impacting your child and your family
- gain confidence in responding to anxiety in a way that is both supportive and helpful
- reduce your child’s anxiety
At Evercare Counseling, we work with parents of anxious kids and adolescents using the SPACE treatment methods. If you are looking for a therapist for your child, we are happy to connect you with clinicians who work directly with children and adolescents with anxiety and/or OCD.
Begin receiving support as a parent of an anxious child online or in-person
Begin receiving support as a parent of an anxious child online or in-person
- Meet with Lindsey Pace, LCSW online or in person
- Start addressing the concerns that matter to you most!
Additional Services Offered by Evercare Counseling
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions isn’t the only service offered at Evercare Counseling. We are happy to offer a variety of online or in person services to support you and your mental health. *Parents receiving support for anxious childhood emotions are not considered therapy clients, rather consultation clients. Additionally consultation clients are not also able to be therapy clients. Other services offered by Evercare Counseling are OCD treatment, Christian counseling, depression treatment, ERP therapy, therapy for women, and other services. Please feel free to read our blog or common questions to learn more helpful info.