Assessing and Treating Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

Course overview

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions experienced during childhood and adolescence. However, these disorders are often undetected, misdiagnosed, or untreated. The long term impact of untreated anxiety can negatively affect the childs academic functioning family relationships, career pursuits, and ability to connect with their peer group. It increases the childs susceptibility to maladaptive coping strategies such as substance use. If the childs anxiety persists into adulthood it increases their risk for a host of significant health complications including impaired sleep patterns, digestive problems, and damage to the kidneys, blood vessels, and heart (McCarthy 2019). This course provides behavioral healthcare professionals with an overview of symptoms of anxiety in children and adolescents, assessment strategies, and evidence based interventions that you can implement to identify and treat these disorders in children and adolescents.