The anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive related disorders are among the most prevalent of all classes of disorders facing children and adolescents today. Left untreated or inadequately treated, these conditions can lead to severe and long-term consequences.
Recognizing symptoms and early warning signs are crucial. We tend to write off childhood & adolescent worries, anxieties and fears as normal and age appropriate. Often they are, but we need to be able to recognize when they are not and seek appropriate help.
For parents, there is absolutely nothing worse than watching your child suffer from any emotional experience. When your baby screams, we run to them to comfort them and attend to their needs. When our toddlers are afraid of loud noises, when our pre-schoolers are afraid of monsters, our elementary schoolers are afraid of going to school, when our pre-teens & high-schoolers are afraid of being judged by peers, our instinct is to rescue them. We hold them, we sing to them, we caress their hair, rub their backs, sooth them… just as we do when they’re sick. As parents, we are nurturing, loving and protective.
The Maryland Anxiety Center was founded by Andrea G. Batton, LCPC with a vision of creating a practice where clinicians and staff work cohesively and collaboratively with patients to provide optimal psychological care. The Maryland Anxiety Center specializes in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders from a cognitive behavioral perspective, the gold-standard and most effective treatment for such conditions.