Shrinking the Worry Monster: Helping Children Manage Anxiety
This 3-hour intermediate-level course is designed for social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other professionals who work with children who have anxiety disorders.
Course Overview
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health diagnoses in school-age children. This training will explore the prevalence and contributing factors of anxiety in children ages 5-10. Without proper support, anxiety symptoms can interfere with healthy development and contribute to long-term mental health challenges. Families often face significant barriers in accessing the care their children need. By providing parents and caregivers with targeted support, resources, and coping strategies specific to childhood anxiety, we can improve children's long-term well-being. Children can be taught to develop coping skills, such as "shrinking the worry monster," through creativity and play. By supporting children, their families, and communities, we can help foster emotional resilience and improve mental health outcomes over a lifetime.
Participants will be able to:
Describe the prevalence and common presentations of anxiety disorders in children aged 5-10.
Identify the potential impact of untreated anxiety disorders on childhood development milestones.
Utilize a collaborative approach when working with children and their families to address anxiety symptoms and treatment needs.
What people have said about other trainings presented by Laura Gaines:
“The trainer provided “very helpful activities and kept the interest level high.”—Sharon L.
“I appreciated the flow of the activities and the interactivity of the training.” --Alex P.
Laura Gaines, MSW, LISW-S
Laura A Gaines is a social worker (LISW-S) specializing in child development, mental health, trauma-informed care, and resilience. She worked as a child and adolescent mental health clinician for 20 years and also served school districts to diagnose, treat, and manage anxiety disorders in children at home and in the community. Her goal was to empower even the youngest child to find ways to "shrink the worry monster" so that they could focus on having fun, building relationships, and learning. She serves as a trainer and researcher regarding resilience as an individual and community skill and provides clinical consultation regarding child and adolescent mental health. Her engaging trainings focus on child development, mental health, developmental disabilities, ethics, trauma-informed care, resilience, and supporting people who are neurodivergent.
