Lately, one of our daughters has been suffering from extreme anxiety. We’ve been in counseling and seeing her pediatrician on a regular basis. I’ve also supplemented my daily reading with a plethora of parenting books and podcasts and today, I wanted to share some resources that have been particularly helpful.
1). It all began with this book my friend, Leslie, recommended. Sissy Goff is a Christian counselor MEd, LPC-MHSP based out of Nashville, TN. She works exclusively with young girls who are suffering from worry, anxiety and/or depression alongside a counselor for boys, David Thomas, LMSW and Melissa Trevathan, MRE who started their practice Daystar Counseling in the 1980s. This is a workbook designed for a parent to work through with their child and it has been an absolutely wonderful resource for our family.
2). This is the companion book to the workbook above, also by Sissy Goff, intended for parents to read as they support their daughter through worry and anxiety. I have underlined half of the book.
3). This is the INCREDIBLE PODCAST that I have been listening to with counselors Sissy, David and Melissa. Each episode is only 20-30 minutes and is PACKED with useful strategies, many of which I have implemented that very same day! Season 4 Episode 7 is specially about worry and anxiety and depression and since it was recorded so recently, it really discusses the effect the pandemic has had on our children. I cannot recommend this entire podcast enough, but particularly this episode! If you do nothing else on this list, listen to this.
https://www.raisingboysandgirls.com/listen
4). Season 4 of the Raising Boys and Girls podcast is centered around Sissy’s newest book, Modern Parents, Vintage Values which I have in my reading pile but haven’t started. Everything they discuss in the podcast is right in line with our family’s values so I cannot wait to begin this book!
5). Finally, this is another book co-written by the same three counselors and another in my “to read” pile, by my side as I type.
Philosopher Plato once said, “Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Happy photos on social media tell only one side of a story- a book with many chapters. My hope is that in sharing a battle our own family is fighting, you will know you are not alone in yours. I hope these resources are as useful to some of you as they have been to us. ❤
New Leaf Parenting 
I so needed to read this tonight! My 8 year old daughter has had anxiety issues for a while and it developed over multiple hospital stays. I just started looking into counseling to help and I’m feeling directionless on where to go from here. I’ll check the resources you suggested.
Let’s go!! Thanks for sharing.
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I’m so glad. It has been very extreme for our daughter, too and honestly, frightening. She’s been in counseling as much as twice a week coupled with weekly appointments to her pediatrician to reassure her that she is healthy and ok. It’s been almost 3 months now and she’s better but as I remind her, she has to “do the work” anytime her worrying thoughts cross her mind. Breathing, grounding techniques, moving her body, etc.. Good luck to you!
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Your daughter is lucky to have a proactive, encouraging, and open minded mom!! Glad to hear she is doing better and learning new coping skills; they will give her tools to use in her life that’ll benefit her in the long run.
Spoke with a child therapist today and it seems we’re going to try art therapy. Thankfully, the process of finding someone hasn’t been so horrendous. We’ll have to see how it goes.
Thank you for your thoughts and for sharing your story. It’s a sensitive topic.
Take care and wishing you guys lots of progress!
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