Care Newsletter
Care and Support Updates
Updates on the latest clinical offerings from our centers in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
December 20, 2024
It’s easy for children to be smitten with the magic of the holidays. Fun presents. Extra sweets. A vacation from school. There’s a lot to look forward to! But with the freedom and excess of the season, sometimes kids can get a little carried away. For most families, there will be a point when the kids get overtired and cranky, or would rather play with their new toys than sit at the dinner table. Here are some tips to keep kids happy and ready to enjoy whatever the season brings.
Children with mental health and learning disorders may find the season stressful. If your child is consistently having a hard time and you’re concerned they’re might be something else going on, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today.
FOR CAREGIVERS
Supporting Kids with Social Anxiety
Young people who struggle with social anxietyexperience intense discomfort in social settings. To ease their anxious thoughts, they often begin avoiding social situations — which unfortunately makes their anxiety worse.
While individual treatment teaches children and adolescents strategies for how to tolerate social situations without avoiding them, there is growing evidence that practicing and refining these skills is more effective when done in group formats.
FOR EDUCATORS
A Teacher’s Guide to Selective Mutism
| Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that affects children in school, where they find themselves unable to speak, even though they can speak comfortably at home. Kids who have selective mutism might only be able to speak in a whisper to teachers or peers.
While warming up to a new classroom environment can take time for many children, and being quiet in the first few weeks of school isn’t uncommon, a student who is nonverbal for more than a month may be cause for concern. |
FOR CLINICIANS
Freeing the “Anxious Generation” From the Harms of a Phone-Based Childhood
| Zach Rausch, MS, is an associate research scientist at NYU-Stern School of Business and lead researcher for the New York Times bestseller, “The Anxious Generation”.
Generation Z is the first generation in history to go through puberty with smartphones in their pockets. This advanced form of technology often calls them away from human connection and pulls them further into an exciting, addictive, and oftentimes unstable alternate reality. According to Zach Rausch — lead researcher for the #1 New York Times bestseller “The Anxious Generation” — the decline of independence, responsibility, and free play in childhood as well as the rise in popularity of smartphones and social media among adolescents, is driving the world’s current youth mental health crisis. In this seminar, he will draw on research from numerous academic fields to provide concrete solutions to help parents and teens escape out of the social media traps they find themselves in. |
Clinical Programs
The Child Mind Institute’s clinical programs provide evidence-based services targeting specific skills in a tailored environment.
Interested in More Content Like This?
Sign up to get weekly resources like this delivered to your inbox.
