Child and Teen Mental Health in Austin, Texas
Most parents who contact us have been going back and forth for a while about whether this is something a child grows out of. It is a fair question and it does not have one answer. Some difficulties are short lived. Others settle in and get more challenging to leave alone.
What we can say is that the wait for certainty is usually longer than the wait for an assessment.
We are an Austin, Texas practice, and every session is by video, so you do not need to live near the office to work with us.
Signs worth taking seriously
- Become destructive toward themselves, others, or property
- Started withdrawing from friends and avoiding social contact
- Begun smoking, drinking, or using drugs
- Changed noticeably in appetite or eating habits
- Complained persistently of headaches or stomachaches
- Struggled to get through ordinary days because of fear or worry
- Taken extreme risks
- Lost interest in things they used to enjoy
- Had trouble concentrating or sitting still
- Been unable to control their emotions
- Talked about harming themselves or someone else
How we treat it
The same conditions look different in children than in adults, which is why they get missed. The last sign on that list needs immediate attention rather than a wait for an appointment.
SPACE: treatment that works through the parents
This is worth understanding even if you have never heard of it, because it changes what treatment can look like for a family.
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. It is a structured, evidence based program for child and teen anxiety, and its distinguishing feature is that the child does not have to attend. The work is done with the parents, and the child’s anxiety improves through changes in how the parents respond.
It matters most in a situation where the child is not open to attending therapy. A teen who refuses to see a therapist, or a younger child too anxious to walk into an appointment, has historically meant nothing could be done. With SPACE, something can.
It rests on a finding that surprises people. Teaching parents how to respond to a child’s anxiety can be about as effective at reducing the child’s symptoms as treating the child directly.
The work is practical. It focuses on reducing accommodation, the changes families make to spare a child distress, while increasing genuine support, so that the child hears confidence in their ability to cope rather than confirmation that they cannot. Our family support page goes into what accommodation looks like.
Treatment with the child directly
Where a child is willing and old enough, cognitive behavioral therapy helps them understand why the symptoms happen and what to do with them. Children learn to notice distorted thinking, to test it, and to build coping and problem solving skills they keep.
For a child with OCD, the treatment is Exposure and Response Prevention, adapted for their age and involving the family.
Getting started
If you are not sure whether what you are seeing warrants an appointment, that is a good reason to have a first conversation rather than to wait.
You can read about our clinicians on our team page, or contact us.