NCTCA 2021

Anxiety disorders among children are on the rise: More medications are being prescribed, new disorders such as “school refusal” are appearing and, even among children not diagnosed with a disorder, children are appearing increasingly daunted by the task of taking on the world around them. Changes in the way children in the West play and learn are a part of this as children have less opportunity to creatively explore and practice in the world, free from adult involvement and protection. This workshop takes a health perspective in which childhood anxiety is understood as a necessary building block of adaptation, and an essential gateway to a child’s creative engagement with the world. A perspective is provided that helps slowly shift the burden of responsibility on to children as they grow—something that helps them take on anxiety adaptively, at the same time as they experience the sense of mastery and competence such growth generates.