When Your Child Worries About Everything: Therapy for Child Anxiety in BC
They’re not being dramatic. They’re not trying to be difficult. Their brain is telling them something is dangerous — and they need help turning down the volume.
Does Your Child Experience Any of These?
- Constant worry — about school, friendships, health, or things that haven’t happened yet
- Difficulty separating from you — tears, clinginess, or panic at drop-off
- Avoiding situations that used to be fine — sleepovers, birthday parties, new activities
- Frequent stomachaches, headaches, or feeling sick with no medical explanation
- Difficulty falling asleep — racing thoughts, needing you to stay, fear of the dark or being alone
- Asking the same questions over and over — seeking reassurance that doesn’t stick
- Meltdowns that seem out of proportion to the situation
- Perfectionism — erasing, starting over, refusing to try if they might not get it right
If your child is struggling with several of these, they may be experiencing clinical anxiety — not typical childhood worry, but a pattern that is interfering with their ability to learn, play, and feel safe in the world.
What’s Happening in Your Child’s Brain
Anxiety in children is not a choice, a phase, or a parenting failure. It is a neurobiological pattern in which the brain’s threat-detection system — the amygdala — is overactive, sending alarm signals in situations that aren’t actually dangerous.
Your child’s brain is doing its job: protecting them. The problem is that it’s protecting them from things that don’t need protecting against — and it’s doing it so loudly that your child can’t hear anything else.
Without support, childhood anxiety tends to grow. The avoidance gets wider. The world gets smaller. And the child begins to build their identity around being “the anxious one.”
With the right support, it doesn’t have to go that way.
How Therapy Helps Children With Anxiety
Therapy for child anxiety is active, engaging, and age-appropriate. It doesn’t look like adult therapy — it meets your child where they are.
Depending on your child’s age and needs, we may use:
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) — helping your child identify anxious thoughts, test them against reality, and develop new ways of responding
- Exposure and Response Prevention — gradually and safely approaching feared situations so your child’s brain learns they can handle it
- Mindfulness and grounding techniques — practical tools your child can use at school, at bedtime, or in the moment
- Play and creative approaches — for younger children who express themselves better through play, art, or storytelling than through talking
- EMDR — when anxiety is connected to a specific frightening experience or pattern of experiences
- Parent involvement — coaching you on how to respond to anxiety in ways that support your child without reinforcing the pattern
The goal is not to eliminate anxiety — some anxiety is normal and healthy. The goal is to give your child the tools to feel the worry and do the thing anyway.
About Dr. Rose Record-Lemon, PhD, L.Psych.
I’m a Licensed Psychologist with a PhD in Counselling Psychology from UBC, specializing in therapy for children, teens, and adults. I have extensive experience in school, healthcare, and community settings, and I understand how anxiety shows up differently at different developmental stages.
I use a client-centered, trauma-informed, and experiential approach — because children heal through connection, safety, and doing, not just talking.
I offer online therapy for clients across British Columbia.
Ready to Help Your Child?
You know your child better than anyone. If something feels off, trust that instinct. Early support for anxiety makes a significant difference — not just now, but for the rest of their life.
Book a consultation | Call: 604-722-4534 | Email: info@emergence-counselling.com
Emergence Counselling & Wellness provides online therapy across British Columbia. This page is educational content and is not a substitute for professional therapeutic support.