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December 18, 2024
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Back to School Jitters: Effective Strategies for Supporting Your Child

Back to School Jitters: Effective Strategies for Supporting Your Child
Photo Courtesy: Dr. Carol Chu-Peralta

By: Nic Abelian

As the back-to-school season approaches, many children, teens, and young adults experience anxiety related to the transition. Center for Resiliency, LLC, founded by Dr. Carol Chu-Peralta, provides expert-driven care for individuals of all ages. To support parents during this time, the center offers insights and strategies that may help in managing their children’s school-related anxiety.

Dr. Chu-Peralta, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience helping individuals manage life’s challenges, highlights the important role parents can play in addressing their children’s anxiety. School-related anxiety can affect a child’s emotional well-being, academic performance, and social interactions. By recognizing and addressing this anxiety, parents can help create a supportive environment that may ease the transition back to school.

One approach recommended by Dr. Chu-Peralta involves parents managing their own anxiety first. Children are sensitive to their caregivers’ emotional states, and heightened parental anxiety can sometimes increase a child’s worries. Dr. Chu-Peralta suggests that parents assess and regulate their own emotions before discussing school-related topics with their children. Approaching the conversation calmly may help reduce the child’s anxiety and encourage more open, supportive dialogue.

“Parents could do a quick check-in with themselves to assess their own stress or anxiety and remind themselves that their child’s school anxiety is common and manageable,” says Dr. Chu-Peralta. “By managing their own stress, parents can model healthy coping mechanisms that may help their children feel more at ease.”

In addition to managing their own emotions, Dr. Chu-Peralta encourages parents to use past experiences to help their children recognize their resilience. By reminding children of situations in which they felt nervous but ultimately succeeded, parents may help their children reframe their current fears. For example, recalling a time when the child was apprehensive about a school event but later felt proud of their achievement can provide reassurance. This technique can help children understand that anxiety is a natural part of new experiences but does not have to dictate the outcomes.

“Reflecting on past successes can be a valuable way to help children recognize their resilience,” Dr. Chu-Peralta explains. “When children see that they have faced and successfully navigated challenges before, it can give them the confidence to approach new experiences with a sense of capability.”

Center for Resiliency offers a variety of psychological services to address the needs of individuals and families. The center provides therapy for children, teens, adults, couples, and families, as well as comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for individuals across the lifespan. The staff combines professional expertise with empathy, tailoring care to the individual needs of each patient.

Center for Resiliency places a strong emphasis on professional development. Each provider at CFR engages in regular supervision and case reviews to stay informed on the latest research and best practices in psychology. This collaborative environment allows therapists to continually improve their skills and offer patients a broad range of evidence-based treatment methods.

“Our team is committed to ongoing learning,” says Dr. Chu-Peralta. “We strive to stay up-to-date with the latest psychological research and techniques, so we can offer informed and compassionate care to our patients.”

As students prepare to return to school, Center for Resiliency is ready to support families in managing school-related anxiety. By equipping parents with strategies that may help children build resilience, CFR works to create an environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

For more information about the services offered at Center for Resiliency, please visit their website or follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Contact:

Dr. Carol Chu-Peralta
Founder and Clinical Psychologist
Center for Resiliency, LLC
Phone: +12016613375
Email: info@centerforresiliency.com

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical or psychological advice. Please consult with a qualified healthcare provider for advice tailored to your specific needs.

References

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