Does Your Child have GAD?

The parent had anxiety. It was of a concern for their kid’s safety. The parent did have some tragic experiences when they were a child. Their fear, although not necessary now, had a basis in reality from the past.

Their child had anxiety. It was labled GAD – Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The child had fears, but they weren’t pinned down to something specific. They were more free floating, as if the child were just always fearful but not knowing of what specifically.

Occasionally the child would pin down a source of fear, but it wouldn’t last or it would shift to something else. That is the nature of GAD. It looks to make sense of itself by anchoring to one thing or another.

The child had only seen individual therapists, none of whom knew of the parent’s own anxiety related to childhood experiences.

It was only when the new therapist insisted on meeting with the parents first did the one parent’s issue with anxiety related to their past, emerge.

Therein they learned how inadvertently we can pass anxiety from one person to another.

As the parent managed the child from their position of fear, the child learned there was something to be afraid of but couldn’t figure out what.

Hence the parent actually had PTSD and the child was adversely impacted by it.

Treating the child required treating the parent first as the parent’s fears were the source of the child’s.

Once the parent was able to address and deal with their fears, so too did the child.

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I am Gary Direnfeld and I am a social worker. Check out all my services and then call me if you need help with a personal issue, mental health concern, child behavior or relationship, divorce or separation issue or even help growing your practice. I am available in person and by video conferencing.

Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW

gary@yoursocialworker.com
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Gary Direnfeld is a social worker. Courts in Ontario, Canada, consider him an expert in social work, marital and family therapy, child development, parent-child relations and custody and access matters. Gary is the host of the TV reality show, Newlywed, Nearly Dead, former parenting columnist for the Hamilton Spectator and author of Marriage Rescue: Overcoming the ten deadly sins in failing relationships. Gary maintains a private practice in Georgina Ontario, providing a range of services for people in distress. He speaks at conferences and workshops throughout North America. He consults to mental health professionals as well as to mediators and collaborative law professionals about good practice as well as building their practice.