Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can happen to anyone at any age. GAD tends to present as frequent or constant worry and anxiety about many things in one’s life. You may experience physical symptoms of anxiety and have difficulty concentrating, sleeping, or fully participating in your life. While GAD can make every day life feel difficult, therapy has been shown to help by better understanding your anxiety, changing your thinking, and re-engaging with your life.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be a debilitating condition. Obsessions are extremely anxiety inducing thoughts that occur frequently. These thoughts lead to compulsions, which are behaviors you do to reduce the anxiety. OCD is a vicious cycle and can greatly impact the quality of yours or your child’s life, making every. day tasks feel impossible. Specific types of therapy have been proven to treat OCD and help people to manage their symptoms.

Depression is more than just feeling sad. Depression is a prolonged period of time when a person has a persistently low mood and a loss of interest in activities. You may experience feelings of hopelessness, too much or too little sleep, withdrawal from friends and family, and difficulty working or going to school. In kids and teens, depression might look like irritability or social isolation. Therapy can help those with depression achieve a more consistent mood and re-engage in their life.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) can greatly affect one’s performance in school, work, and in their social life. Marked by significant anxiety, fear, and embarrassment in social situations, those with social anxiety often try to avoid social situations or speaking up. People with SAD may worry what other people think of them, fearing judgment or humiliation. These worries can have a significant impact on one’s life, but therapy can help reduce this anxiety and help you feel more comfortable.

A phobia is when an individual has a specific and, at times, debilitating fear of a specific object or situation. Someone with a phobia may or may not have a specific reason for the fear, but often strives to avoid the phobic object. Phobia frequently get in the way of living comfortably, as you are always trying to stay away from the feared situation. Therapy for phobias can be very effective and can help reduce fear and become more tolerant of the phobic situation/object.

Experiencing an array of emotions is a normal and healthy part of the human experience. Learning to manage those emotions is a skill that we learn over time. Sometimes children, teens, and adults struggle to regulate their emotions and feel as though they are out of their control, greatly impacting their wellbeing, relationships, and overall functioning. Therapy can help by allowing you to process and better understand your feelings and learn specific skills to better regulate your feelings.

Executive function is a set of mental skills that make us distinctly human. The executive functions include working memory, attention shifting, flexible thinking, self-control, amongst others. Children and adults with ADHD and other executive function challenges struggle with these skills, making school and work difficult. Therapy can teach specific skills to help, as well as help process the feelings that come up around these challenges.

All children and teenagers have behavioral challenges at times, but there are times when these challenges become more significant and interfere with your family’s happiness and functioning. Whether its significant sibling conflict, temper tantrums, or aggression, children (and parents) can learn ways to better manage these challenges. Therapy and/or parental management strategies can help achieve better balance within your family.

Children and adolescents spend a huge amount of their time at school. When school feels difficult, this can take a huge toll on your child’s life. Whether its a specific learning concern, behavioral issues, or social difficulties, children and teens benefits from better understanding their struggles and can then find ways to feel more fulfilled and confident in school.