Assessing and Treating Anxiety 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. As 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. There is widespread misperception about the seriousness that anxiety disorders pose; a survey of Americans undertaken by some of the leading mental health and suicide prevention groups found that more than half of the respondents did not recognize that anxiety disorders increase the risk of suicide. This course provides an overview of how anxiety impacts children and adolescents. You will learn about the specific types of anxiety disorders and the multiple pathways by which anxiety can develop. As you progress through this course, you will learn assessment strategies and evidence-based interventions that you can implement to identify and treat these disorders in children and adolescents.