Mental Health America of Lancaster County (MHALC) is reaching out to parents who may have children struggling with anxiety, either due to the pandemic or generalized. MHALC offers its Community Mental Health Assistance Program (CMAP) to the community, designed to assist individuals who are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues.
CMAP shares Take 5 to Adapt to Our New Normal, which includes five tools for parents of children living with anxiety. First, it is important to validate the child's feelings, address them, and help the child to find a way to cope with them. Second, parents should teach their child self-empowerment and ask the child about ways to handle anxious situations. Third, parents can use an anxiety checklist to outline a series of coping skills that a child can use to calm his or her nervous system. Fourth, when a child finds ways to use the coping skills they have been taught, it is important to praise them for doing so. Fifth, parents should know that there are support groups for parents and additional supports for children.
For additional information, including supports that are available, readers may visit http://www.mhalancaster.org.
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