Childhood and Anxiety.
There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.
Introduction to Addressing Childhood Anxiety.
Childhood and anxiety are, I think we’d agree, something that we would all like to keep apart. Enjoy childhood and leave the anxiety for later. At least, keeping overwhelming anxiety out of the picture. Being a little anxious, a little apprehensive, is part of life. Sadly, according to NHS Inform, “anxiety disorders are estimated to affect 5-19% of all children and adolescents, and about 2-5% of children younger than 12”. Sobering statistics indeed. Physical and mental illness, as well as trauma, can lead to anxiety. However, a lot of anxiety is simply the result of a natural, protective response getting out of hand. It’s in these situations that we can start addressing childhood anxiety.
What is Anxiety?
Mind, the mental health charity, defines anxiety as, “what we feel when we are worried, tense or afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen, or which we think could happen in the future”. It’s a perfectly natural response, linked to our fight-or-flight response. It’s designed to protect us when confronted by danger.
However, self-preservation is an essential part of our survival. Anxiety, that survival instinct on overdrive, is distinctly unhelpful. So, for example, the fight-or-flight response will kick in when a big, scary animal appears in front of us. This is a good thing. Being anxious about meeting a big, scary animal all of the time is not.
Watch and Find Out More.
Overcoming Childhood Anxiety.
I offer a coaching solution to childhood anxiety using NLP techniques. I run the entire process online. Working face-to-face with children is too much like therapy and I want to avoid that. Moreover, I think that it’s quite intimidating for a child to work with someone who is, initially, a complete stranger. So, we first exchange video or audio messages It’s only later in the process that we meet using Zoom.
To get the process started, book a free initial consultation . It’s a chance for you to ask questions and discuss any concerns. It’s an opportunity for me to understand the issues and establish what a good outcome is. We then decide how to proceed.
Once we’ve agreed to start, I send a video message, introducing myself and asking some questions for your child to answer. They reply with a video message. We exchange messages until I have the necessary information to organise a face-to-face online meeting.
We use the face-to-face meeting to undertake interventions to address the anxiety. I do everything as part of a conversation. I chat with your child and ask them to do a number of actions. Each action shifts and then changes behaviour. That’s all there is to it.
After this, I send a video summary all the messages we’ve exchanged and the face-to-face session. I also extract and create an audio file of the hypnosis, assuming I’ve used the technique.
If, at this point, we’ve resolved the issue, all well and good. I offer a free top-up session which some need later on. Sometimes, more work is needed so we continue the process, exchanging messages and possibly holding further face-to-face sessions.
Never More Than £100.
My commitment is that the process will never cost more than £100. The initial consultation, which you can book here, is free. If we decide to go ahead you pay £50. This covers the cost of the video message exchanges. It’s a single fee no matter how many messages it takes. It’s possible that the messages are enough to shift behaviour and attitudes. If that happens we end the process there, with no need for further intervention.
If we need a face-to-face session, you pay £20. This covers the cost of the session plus the video and audio summary which I send afterwards. If we achieve the wanted shift in behaviour and attitudes, we end the process there, with no need for further intervention. And if within the following six months, your child needs a top-up, I offer this at no extra cost.
You pay a further £20 if we need to do more work. We then exchange further messages and possibly complete another face-to-face session. I only ask for a final £10 payment if we need further interventions beyond a second face-to-face meeting.