Categories: Anxiety, Moodtips

A great reminder about washing our hands from a Pre-K Teacher. She shows us a cute behavioral experiment to do with kids and an even better reminder to us all that washing our hands with soap is really effective!

Categories: Anxiety, Moodtips

The spread of a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has flooded our daily news with alerts of caution and advisements about social distancing. During these difficult times, we can find our anxiety soaring. Unfortunately, the things we tend to do naturally to feel better in the moment frequently make us feel worse in the long run. Melinda Smith, MA and Lawrence Robinson from HelpGuide.org have written a wonderful article on coping with Coronavirus (COVID-19) stress, fear and uncertainty. They provide empirically tested interventions we can all use to help both understand and manage our anxiety.

Use the links below to help you stay updated on Coronavirus / COVID-19 both in the USA and other countries.

USA source: Center for Disease Control (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

OTHER COUNTRIES source: World Health Organization (WHO)
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Categories: Anxiety, CBT, OCD

This video features a discussion of CBT for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by British clinical psychologist Professor Paul Salkovskis. He was director of the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma in London when this video was produced. Professor Salkovskis is currently Professor of Clinical Psychology and Applied Science at the University of Bath in Bath, England.

Here are a couple important points Professor Salkovskis makes during this video:

• " ... there is no clear line between normal and abnormal. What actually defines somebody having a disorder or a significant problem is the extent to which it interferes with their life." 
  
  
• "CBT, in my view, isn't just about taking bad stuff away. It's actually about making it possible for people to reclaim their lives in terms of the good things that they want to happen." 

Video reference: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds3wHkwiuCo

Categories: Anxiety, Children

We are providing a link to a popular press review of a very significant study on treatment for anxiety disorder in kids - comparing medication and CBT. Read it carefully. If you do not want your child taking medication, there are options. You can start with CBT. Medication can be added if progress is not being made. Medication alone resulted in improvement in 55% of the subjects. However, CBT alone helped 60%. Medication plus CBT provided improvement in 81% of the subjects. (Article date October 30, 2008 on HealthDay News by reporter Steven Reinberg)

[READ THE FULL ARTICLE] Combo treatment best for anxiety disorder in kids ...

The original research paper (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, or a Combination in Childhood Anxiety) was published in the New England Journal of Medicine