Davidson Child Anxiety Counseling

Davidson Child Anxiety Counseling Hi, I'm Katie Lear, counselor and founder of Davidson Child Anxiety Counseling. We help kids and teens live confidently with anxiety and OCD.

Based in Davidson, NC; virtual therapy available throughout NC, NY, and FL.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, prolonged grief happens when a person has been experiencing these sym...
07/05/2026

According to the American Psychiatric Association, prolonged grief happens when a person has been experiencing these symptoms for a long time. For adults, this is defined as one year, but for children and teens, it’s defined as six months. These symptoms don’t just happen once in a while: they’re present for most of the day, almost every day. In Prolonged Grief Disorder, the symptoms are so frequent and so severe that they make it hard for the griever to keep moving forward in life. This is more likely to happen after the death of someone very close, like a parent, child, or spouse, or if the death was sudden or unexpected, like from an accident.

There isn’t one right way to bring up the subject of therapy. However, there are a few that are…not so great! This is on...
06/28/2026

There isn’t one right way to bring up the subject of therapy. However, there are a few that are…not so great! This is one to avoid. As frustrating as arguments with your child can be—especially if this is your millionth meltdown this week—don’t let this be the way your child learns about therapy.

Telling your child you’re sending them to a therapist between screams or from behind a slammed door virtually guarantees they’ll view therapy as a punishment. It increases a child’s feelings of shame and embarrassment, which won’t help them get better. What’s more, it can turn children off to the whole idea of therapy. They enter their first therapy session feeling resentful and not trusting the therapist to be on their side. That is a hard place to start.

Instead, wait until everyone is feeling good to start a conversation about therapy. This way, your child won’t connect going to a therapist with bad behavior. Avoid times of the day when you know you or your child will be stressed, tired, or hungry. A quiet evening after dinner or snack time after a good day at school is a great time for this discussion.

Counseling can be an integral part of healing and growth for many children. But parents thinking of counseling for their...
06/27/2026

Counseling can be an integral part of healing and growth for many children. But parents thinking of counseling for their child may have concerns. The most common concern I hear from parents is that their child will think something is wrong with them if they see a counselor. Views on mental health are changing quickly, but there can still be a stigma attached to getting therapy. The last thing a child struggling with anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem needs is another reason to feel different or “bad”! Parents of younger children often worry about separation anxiety during sessions, especially if this is one of the issues bringing a child to therapy in the first place. Will it be too frightening for their child to meet with a therapist alone? What be done to help soothe their child’s fears? When the child is a pr***en or teen, there’s sometimes a worry that kids will “shut down” or not be receptive to attending therapy if it wasn’t originally their idea. Any suggestions from Mom or Dad might be viewed with suspicion by a teen or tween. How can we explain therapy in a way that encourages kids to keep an open mind?
If any of these worries sound familiar to you, congratulations! Your concerns are totally normal and you’re in the right place.

Grief is a universal emotion, but until very recently it wasn’t considered a mental health issue. Most of us will experi...
06/26/2026

Grief is a universal emotion, but until very recently it wasn’t considered a mental health issue. Most of us will experience grief during our lifetime. As painful as it is, grief is a healthy, natural response to losing someone we love. Many mental health problems, like anxiety, involve having a big emotional reaction that is out of proportion to the situation. It’s hard to imagine having a reaction that’s too big to the death of a loved one.

Still, grief can seriously impact a person’s life. Like trauma, it can affect a survivor’s relationships with others, their worldview, and their hopes for the future. For a small number of people, grief has a major and lasting effect on their ability to get through daily life. They may feel numb or have a hard time adjusting to the reality of what has happened. They might feel hopeless about the future, or cope with their feelings in unhealthy ways. Prolonged Grief Disorder was created to give a name to people with these kinds of struggles. Keep an eye on this feed for more about these struggles and how they impact kids in particular.

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: Your younger child throws tantrums when it’s time to go t...
06/17/2026

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: Your younger child throws tantrums when it’s time to go to a birthday party or other social event. It’s hard for him to articulate why, but he dreads going. He complains of headaches and stomach aches, and starts feeling on edge the night before it’s time to go.

Therapy can make a big difference in a child’s life. The teen years are tough for pretty much everyone, but learning cop...
06/15/2026

Therapy can make a big difference in a child’s life. The teen years are tough for pretty much everyone, but learning coping skills at an early age can make them a little easier to get through. One of the reasons we love working with tweens and teens is that they’re old enough to learn many of the same skills adults learn in therapy, which means they have a leg up on their current challenges as well as the ones they’ll face in their twenties and beyond.

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: Your child avoids trying out for sports or the school pla...
06/07/2026

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: Your child avoids trying out for sports or the school play, even though you have a feeling he’d love to join. Being “in the spotlight” is just too overwhelming for him, and he’d rather be able to participate without anybody looking at him. You’re worried he might be missing out on a lot of fun.

It’s common for depression to begin in the teen years. Teens have to grapple with body image, sexual identity, and socia...
06/06/2026

It’s common for depression to begin in the teen years. Teens have to grapple with body image, sexual identity, and social issues that are different from what any other age group experiences. What’s more, teens are navigating all these challenges in a rapidly changing body, while simultaneously trying to manage intense academic pressure on the way to college or a career. It’s no wonder so many teens feel isolated, misunderstood, or suffer from low self-esteem that may pave the way for depression.

Interestingly, while depression is more common in boys in the early years, the opposite is true among teens. By adolescence, girls are significantly more likely than boys to experience depression. Regardless of gender, depressed teens may not fit our stereotypical image of a withdrawn, quiet, sad-seeming person. Teens experience their emotions intensely, and their depression can often look like outbursts of anger rather than outbursts of tears. They are also more likely than younger children to express their feelings in impulsive and potentially harmful ways, like substance use or self-harm.

Speaking to your child’s school counselor or doctor can help you make a plan for your teenager if you notice any of the symptoms above. Any child who talks about su***de or self-harm should be taken seriously. If you worry your teen is at risk of making a su***de attempt, call 911 or your local crisis hotline for help right away.

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: It’s hard for your kid to order food at a restaurant or a...
05/31/2026

Here’s an example of how social anxiety manifests in children: It’s hard for your kid to order food at a restaurant or answer the phone. You’ve offered a lot of encouragement, but it still seems like it’s way harder for her than it should be. You’ve noticed other kids the same age don’t have the same struggle.

It can be hard to imagine a very young child being depressed: isn’t early childhood supposed to be the most carefree tim...
05/30/2026

It can be hard to imagine a very young child being depressed: isn’t early childhood supposed to be the most carefree time of our lives? While not as common as anxiety, about 3.2% of U.S. kids ages 3-17 have been diagnosed with depression. Interestingly, young boys (10 and under) seem to be more at risk of depression than young girls. Little kids may show symptoms of depression differently than older children. It can be harder for them to put their feelings into words, so you may notice that young children’s signs of depression show up more in their behavior. If you’ve noticed multiple signs of depression in your child that have persisted for more than a few weeks, it’s a good idea to have a conversation with your pediatrician or a mental health professional.

Address

706 Northeast Drive Ste 1
Davidson, NC
28036

Telephone

+17049812591

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Davidson Child Anxiety Counseling posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category