From MinnPost: According to psychologist Hal Pickett, childhood anxiety is best reduced through self-care and common-sense therapies such as getting enough sleep, maintaining a balanced diet, exercising, and engaging in mindfulness meditation.
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This MH professional unfortunately failed to mention probably the most evidence-based way of overcoming a child anxiety problem – facing one’s fears (aka exposure therapy). Instead, he recommends exercise, sleep, diet, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and a toolbox of calming and reassurance techniques. This is consistent with what research shows about child therapists – they often favor feel-good calming techniques over exposure, and this often occurs among clinicians who view their clients as fragile and unable to tolerate the distress evoked by facing their fears (http://www.uw-anxietylab.com/uploads/7/6/0/4/7604142/exposure_for_child_anxiety_jad.pdf).
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Thanks (also for this one) to Brett Deacon for responding appropriately to this post / link – your time, wisdom and academic rigor is greatly appreciated. Rob Purssey (ACT therapist and psychiatrist)
