Anxiety in children is on the rise. According to The Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, there was a 20 percent increase in the diagnosis of anxiety in children between 2007 and 2012. Every day at my practice, I see kids who struggle with anxiety. Anxiety in children is associated with feelings of not being safe or protected. In his book, Modular Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Anxiety Disorders, Bruce E. Chorpita, PhD, discusses several factors that are present in children who have anxiety. Why all this increase in anxiety? There are many factors that come into play. We have an environment where kids worry about safety. Safety is a basic need of all human beings. We have kids hearing about and seeing mass shootings on an almost weekly basis …
