Groups, Classes, and Workshops

Parenting Anxious Kids: Small-Group Workshop

Dr. Bohlander offers a 6-session (1-hour each session) small-group workshop geared towards parents of elementary-aged kids who experience anxiety.

Flyer for Parenting Anxious Kids (5-11)

***Next Elementary-Age (5-11) Group Starting Thurs. 10/17 12:30-1:30pm via Zoom***

Additionally, starting in Fall 2024, Dr. Cesalie Stepney will be offering a similar group for parents of middle & high school aged students (teens & tweens)!

Flyer for Parenting Anxious Teens (12-18)

***Next Teen Group (12-18) starting soon too! (Dates/ times TBD)***

CONTENT/ TOPICS COVERED:

If your child worries a lot, is overly fearful, avoids things that they want or need to do because of worry, or asks you for frequent reassurance or to help them feel better when they are worried, then this class is for you. In this workshop, parents will learn evidence-based strategies to help their kids manage their anxiety, including:

  • Information about childhood anxiety, how it develops and why it continues, and how to help your child break free of it.

  • Techniques and strategies based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), including:

    • the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions

    • how to help your child learn to think more realistically when they are worried

    • communication and problem-solving skills, and

    • coping and relaxation strategies that you and your child can use.

  • How to encourage your child to be brave and gradually face their fears in a step-wise fashion, using a process called “Exposure and Response Prevention” (E/RP).

  • Parenting strategies based on the “Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions” (SPACE) program, including how to increase your support of your anxious child while also identifying and decreasing any ways the anxiety is being accommodated.

LOGISTICS:

The groups are typically held during the school day (~10am-2pm), from September through June, and via Zoom, although in-person groups may occasionally be offered based on parent interest/ availability.

Each group is intentionally kept small (4-6 families) to allow ample time for questions and to tailor the information to each family’s needs.

Parenting Anxious Kids is open to families residing in Washington State and any of the 40+ other states that are members of PSYPACT. Click here to see the current list of states.

COST & INSURANCE INFO:

The cost of the group is $150 per 60-min. group session per family ($900 total). Dr. Bohlander and Dr. Stepney are out-of-network with insurance, but provide superbills so families can submit claims. You may check with your insurance to see if they will reimburse you for a portion of the group. The “CPT code” that will be billed is 90849. You can also typically use FSA/ HSA accounts to pay for the group.

ADDITIONAL INFO AND HOW TO REGISTER:

This class is appropriate for parents of children with an anxiety or OCD diagnosis, and also for those who do not have a formal diagnosis of anxiety or OCD but demonstrate anxious, fearful, or avoidant behaviors.

The class is NOT the best fit for parents of children whose primary difficulties are emotion regulation (e.g., getting very upset about things, escalating quickly, having a hard time calming down, tantrums, etc) or very challenging behaviors (e.g., hitting, kicking, running away, not listening to adults, etc). Of course, many of these behaviors are common for anxious children and will be discussed, but the focus of the workshop will be on helping your child be less fearful and worried.

Please complete our New Client Inquiry Form if you would like to participate.