As a therapist who works with children, I often use Art Therapy with kids who struggle with anxiety. I offer a variety of materials when my clients are creating art in a therapy session but thought I would take an opportunity to share some of my favorite art supplies that I find helpful.

San Diego North County is a great place to raise kids. So many wonderful opportunities. Award-winning schools, beaches, hiking trails, and lots of near-perfect weather. While San Marcos may be known as a family-friendly community within North County, not all the kids here are happy and relaxed.

If you have ever been to therapy yourself, you know it can take some time to find the “right” therapist. The truth is it can be even harder to find the right therapist for a child struggling with anxiety. There are several reasons, but here are the basic ones.

Providing children opportunities to make decisions, without parent involvement builds decision-making muscles. With my training in Art Therapy, I often incorporate artmaking into child therapy and family therapy sessions. I find that art-making provides opportunities for children to express their self and communicate what they think and feel.

Adults who come to therapy, often have developed unhelpful ways of coping with their anxiety. Parents who reach out to me about child therapy want their children to learn better ways to cope with anxiety.

As I have provided therapy for kids, many have wrestled with anxiety, for various reasons. It's not uncommon for kids to have worries about their own safety. They also worry that something bad will happen to their parents. During the pandemic, these fears heightened for many children.

Yes, you read that right…ways you can increase your child’s anxiety. I really wish when my children were younger someone would have told me that as a parent I may be at times my child’s greatest source of anxiety.

You can feel the nervous energy all a buzz. It’s on the freeway, in the parking lots, and those lines at the store. You can’t avoid it online either. Anxiety around the holidays is real. As a therapist, I know that for some people, the holidays just feel overwhelming.

While the end of school is not here yet, I know if you're a parent you’re beginning to think about summer, and so is your child. There are so many things to do in Encinitas, and so much beauty to enjoy. However, the logistics of summer can really cause some uneasiness as you survey the calendar.

When I think of children who are quieter, I think about clients in the past and how art therapy helped them. While I cannot tell you their confidential stories, or share pictures of their artwork, their images created in art therapy still come to my memory. Powerful images.