Children Experiencing Fear and Anxiety, DVD

With Bonnie Zucker, PsyD

Closed Captioned

It is common for children to experience fear and anxiety throughout the course of their young lives, which is why it is important to equip children in therapy with tools and strategies to effectively handle stressful situations and learn how to face their fears.

Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most empirically supported approach to treating anxiety disorders, in both children and adults, for several reasons. The approach provides an opportunity for the client to take ownership in the treatment process, fosters social and cognitive learning, and encourages self-regulation and problem-solving skills.

In this video, Dr. Bonnie Zucker works with a young female client to demonstrate specific CBT techniques and strategies to help the child face her fears in a gradual, step-by-step fashion.

Approach
Cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most empirically-supported approach to treating anxiety disorders in children and adults.

CBT views anxiety as having three components:

physiological (body)cognitive (thoughts)behavioral
The successful treatment of childhood anxiety involves systematically addressing each component.

Specific strategies involved in working with anxiety include calm breathing, how to identify and replace cognitive distortions, how to do worry loop recordings and uncertainty training, and how to construct a hierarchy used to help the child face his or her fears gradually.

About the Therapist
Bonnie Zucker, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist with a background and expertise in psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and adults. She received her doctoral degree from Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, her master's degree in applied psychology from the University of Baltimore, and her bachelor's degree in psychology from George Washington University.

Dr. Zucker specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adults and utilizes a cognitive–behavioral (CBT) approach. She conducts psychotherapy in private practice in Rockville, Maryland.

Dr. Zucker was named one of Washingtonian Magazine's Top Therapists in the fields of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, OCD, Phobias, Troubled Child, and Troubled Adolescent in 2009.

In addition to being active in conducting trainings on CBT for anxiety, Dr. Zucker wrote Anxiety-Free Kids: An Interactive Guide for Parents and Children, Take Control of OCD: The Ultimate Guide for Kids With OCD, Parenting Kids With OCD: A Guide to Understanding and Supporting Your Child With OCD, and Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler's Guide to Understanding Death.

In addition, she coauthored Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents: Enhancing Social Competence and Self-Regulation (A Cognitive-Behavioral Group Approach), Relaxation and Self-Regulation Techniques for Children and Teens: Mastering the Mind-Body Connection (Audio CD), and Relaxation and Wellness Techniques: Mastering the Mind-Body Connection (Audio CD).