Teen Anxiety

Therapy and Support for Teens Struggling With Anxiety

If your teen has been struggling with anxiety, they are certainly not alone. The most recent NIMH statistics show an estimated 31.9% of teens had an anxiety disorder, with 8.3% of them experiencing severe impairment. Anxiety can interfere with a teen’s academic performance and impair social functioning and disrupt relationships.

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Is My Teen Is Struggling with Anxiety?

Parents may wonder if their teen is experiencing anxiety or if the symptoms they are exhibiting are related to something else. Since there are several forms of anxiety, each with unique features, it may be difficult to know without the help of a mental health expert.

Consider the different types of anxiety and their related symptoms:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Symptoms include excessive worry and fear in daily life, recurrent headaches, stomach distress, nausea, irritability, fatigue, and insomnia.
Specific Phobia
Teen phobia disorder involves an intense fear of an object, a place, or a situation. Symptoms include racing heart, sweating, trembling, and lightheadedness.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety involves a deep fear of public ridicule or judgment. Symptoms include sweating, nausea, trembling or shaking, and isolating behaviors.
Panic Disorder
A panic attack makes the teen feel out of control and fear they are dying. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, a racing heart, sweating, shaking, headache, nausea, and dizziness.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
PTSD is a prolonged response after having witnessed or experienced a traumatic event. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia, irritability, difficulty concentrating, withdrawing from friends, loss of interest in formerly enjoyed activities, and emotional numbness.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD features obsessive thoughts that cause fear and dread, which lead to disordered compulsive behaviors. These behaviors are an attempt to relieve the stress that is caused by the distressing thoughts. An example of OCD might be an extreme fear of germs or contamination that results in a hand-washing ritual that consumes a great deal of time.

What to Do If My Teen is Struggling with Anxiety?

If you suspect your teen is struggling with anxiety, you’ll find there are outpatient treatment programs available to provide needed treatment and support. Outpatient treatment options include:

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
The IOP offers a more intensive approach to anxiety treatment than the teen would receive through a private mental health provider. An IOP involves three days a week, with three hours of programming per session.
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
A PHP, or day program, is the highest level of care for teens in need of treatment and support for anxiety disorder. The PHP requires the teen to participate in therapy and related activities five days per week.

Teen outpatient treatment involves the following:

Assessment
Each teen receives an initial evaluation and assessment that results in a diagnosis and customized treatment plan.
Therapy
Outpatient treatment provides the teen with individual psychotherapy sessions. Evidence-based therapies are selected based on the teen’s specific type of anxiety disorder.
Group sessions
Group therapy sessions involve the teens meeting in a small group to discuss topics related to their mental health struggle.
Medication management
Medication management is provided for teens currently prescribed medication for anxiety, or for newly prescribed medication.