From a dread of spiders to panic attacks, kids have worries and fears, just like adults. This is a book kids can turn to when they need advice, reassurance, and ideas. They’ll find out where fears and worries come from, practice Fear Chasers and Worry Erasers, and learn to seek help for hard-to-handle fears they can’t manage on their own.
First 50 pages or so are an introduction to types of worrying and include exercises to help kids narrow down what worries or scares them, and how to use "Fear Chasers" and "Worry Erasers".
Crist does an excellent job of explaining what your mind and body are going through when you think worrisome or fearful thoughts, and I think giving it that physical connection can be very helpful to people who are just starting to understand anxiety.
Second half of book goes into phobias, panic attacks, OCD, etc. I did not review these sections, but what I like is that they are written for children in the 9-13 age group. As parents are doing their own reading and research, this is a book that could be read together.
There is a helpful chapter on what to expect from counseling sessions. This would be a good resource for kids or parents who have no idea what to expect.
This is a great little book for children who are worriers or get anxious about things. I read this book as I had started to get a trickle of under-12 clients coming through the door and I wanted to find an interesting and understandable way of explaining anxiety, stress and how negative thinking affects our happiness. This book uses a great little metaphor - that the amygdala (part of the brain responsible for triggering the fight or flight response) was like a guard post looking out for danger. Some of the stuff in the book doesn't follow my style of working (i.e. at times it focuses on the problem rather than the solution) but on the whole it has been a great help to me in structuring my sessions.
What to Do When You’re Scared and Worried: A Guide for Kids is a wonderful children’s resource book that reaches out to let kids know that worries are common and can be overcome. Winning the 2004 iParenting Media Award sets this volume apart from others. Written in child-friendly terms, this work is comprehensive and gives proven techniques for dealing with fear and anxiety.
I found this book for Elizabeth at the library. She worries A LOT and this book has activities for her to do to control her anxiety. It talks about all kinds of worrying and phobias. I learned quite a bit from reading and now she is too. Hurray for books!!