Anxiety and the Gift of the Imagination: A New Clinical Model for Helping Children Understand and Manage Anxiety

According to statistics from Canada and the United States, anxiety disorders in children are on the rise. In spite of anxiety being a debilitating condition, many children are not motivated to receive psychotherapeutic help, preferring instead to use avoidance as their defence against states of anxiety. This workshop will teach a therapeutic formulation of anxiety that has worked extremely well for hundreds of children in Dr. Alter’s private practice. She will explain how the link between imagination and anxiety can be used effectively in treatment.

This approach starts and ends with an enhancement of self-esteem and actually motivates children to use therapeutic tools and strategies. You will learn how children’s anxiety and thinking are different from adults and how to be more effective with children in creating fundamental change.You will learn to:

• Differentiate between children’s and adult’s anxieties

• Teach children how to control their minds

• Manage children’s anxiety and Increase their motivation for change

• Work with children around anxiety to enhance their self-esteem, empower them and challenge them to face their problems and fears

Facilitator: Robin Alter PhD