Your Anxious Child

In this podcast we will talk about perfectionism in childhood with two psychologist from the Department of Psychology at Smith College. Do you have child who rips up her homework because it wasn't done perfectly? This may be the podcast for you.

Tracy Anglada is the parent of two children with bipolar illness and the author Intense Minds: Through the Eyes of Young People with Bipolar Disorder  and Brandon and the Bipolar Bear. She also has a website bpchildren.org which contains many useful resources including a 4 part webnair for teachers on bipolar illness. Her book Intense Minds is an extremely useful and important book in conveying what it is like for children for struggle with bipolar illness. In this interview we have the chance to talk about anxiety in children with bipolar illness which may occur in as much as 2/3 of all children with this condition and has some distinctive features.

Karen Levine, PhD is a Psychologist in private practice and Instructor in Psychology at the Harvard Medical Center. She and Naomi Chedd, LMHC have written several books including Replays: Using Play to Enhance Emotional and Behavioral Development for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and most recently Attacking Anxiety: A Step-by-Step Guide to an Engaging Approach to Treating Anxiety and Phobias in Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.

Dr Levine practices in Lexington, MA and she can be found on the internet at drkarenlevine.com

In this podcast Dr Levine will talk about how to help children with developmental challenges overcome their fears and phobias. 

Lawrence Cohen, PhD is the author of several books on the importance of play in parenting. His recent book the opposite of worry: The Playful Parenting Approach to Childhood Anxieties and Fears  is the topic of this podcast. More information is available at www.playfulparenting.com

Captain Tom Bunn, MSW, LCSW is a pilot who has flown for the Air Force and several commercial companies. He is also a licensed therapist. His book SOAR: The Breakthrough Treatment for Fear of Flying  has highly praised. You can learn more about his program at www.fearofflying.com

Alan Goldberg,EdD is a expert on performance anxiety and the author of two book, This is Your Brain on Sports with David Grand and Sports Slump Busting. His web site competitiveedge.com contains a ton of useful material including some informative videos. If you have an anxious child, it is quite likely you will run some performance anxiety whether it involves a sports event, a school play or perhaps dealing with a standardized test. You will get some useful ideas from this podcast.

This podcast is a departure from the usual 5 minute podcasts. Today we begin an occasional series of interview with professional with have a distinct perspective on helping anxious children. Dr Ken Talan is a child psychiatrist who has written a well received book Help Your Child or Teen Get Back on Track   and he currently teaches a  workshop for parents entitled "Parents Resilency Training-A Path To More Peace of Mind". Further information about Dr.Talan can be found on his website kentalan.com

In this episode I talked about the problem of what to do if your anxious child doesn't want any help.