PC-Care for Child Anxiety

 
 
 
Father and son play with blocks together on the living room floor, illustrating the calm and connection possible with PCIT and PC-CARE.
 
 

At Hamilton Family Counseling we specialize in therapy for families with children ages 1-12 with anxiety to empower parents and caregivers to soothe emotions and manage anxious behaviors in a way that is nurturing and effective.

 
 

Foster and adoptive families can especially benefit.
LGBTQIA+ Affirmative.

 
 

Child anxiety can manifest as the following:

  • Worries, fears, and phobias

  • Resistance to speaking or eating

  • Irritability or refusing directions or routines

  • Avoidance of certain tasks, places, or events

  • Difficulty with concentration or completing tasks

  • Restless, nervous energy, or jumpy

  • Fear of being separated from parents like at school or bedtime

  • Perfectionism or unrealistic expectations of self and others

 
 
Father and daugther play with a doll house together on the floor, illustrating how child led play of PCIT and PC-CARE can help calm child anxiety.
 

Child anxiety can also manifest as avoidance of performance-evaluated tasks such as getting dressed, chores, school work, sports, competitive games, or even creative activities out of fear of receiving a negative evaluation.

 
 

Help for Child Anxiety

Father and daughter touch noses while smiling and hugging, illustrating the increase calm and connection that is possible with PCIT and PC-CARE.

The PC-CARE Parenting Protocol

For this presentation of child anxiety, we provide the Parent-Child Care Protocol (PC-CARE) developed at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, for children who are developmentally between the ages of 1-10.

 
 
 
Mother, father, toddler son, and school aged daughter are playing on the floor toegher with stacking sticks, illustrating the warmth and connection possible with PCIT.

Parents are Empowered

Parents and caregivers learn a special set of play therapy skills and calming strategies to soothe their child’s anxieties and building their child’s confidence, independence, and ability to self-regulate their emotions and impulses.

 

Foster and adoptive families can especially benefit.
LGBTQIA+ Affirmative.

 

Child Anxiety & Irritability

Sometimes child anxiety can manifest as frustration, irritability, or anger that can spill over into disruptive behaviors which have been linked to higher rates of high school dropout, substance abuse, unemployment, and even incarceration. Anxious acting out can look like the following:

 
 

  • Arguing or fighting with family or peers

  • Constantly irritable or easily frustrated

  • Whining, yelling, emotional outbursts, or tantrums

  • Refusing to do chores, homework, or participate in group or family activities

  • Biting, hitting, breaking, or throwing things

  • Difficulty with following instructions

Two school aged twins yelling at each other, illustrating irritable anxiety that can be treatment with PCIT.
 

But PCIT can change a child’s entire life trajectory.

 
A graph showing the comparative effect size of PCIT to other mental health protocols.

For disruptive behaviors resulting from child anxiety, we provide Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).

Many child mental health experts consider PCIT to be the gold standard in treating children’s disruptive behaviors because, after hundreds of studies over 40 years, nothing is more effective than completing PCIT.

 
 
 

PCIT Empowers Parents

Parents and caregivers can become their child’s own therapeutic specialist by learning a special set of play therapy skills and behavior therapy skills to help their child learn to self-regulate anxious, acting out behaviors.

 
Two smiling grandparents eat dinner at a table with their parent-aged children and their grandchild.

The Benefits of PCIT

With strategies that are nurturing and effective, PCIT can radically transform behaviors in just 14 weeks, improve school behaviors, and improve the behaviors of siblings.

We also provide all families with the option of integrating PCIT with PC-CARE Calming Strategies so parents can learn to dissolve tantrums and children can begin learning to self soothe.

 

Additional Treatment Options

Hamilton Family Counseling also offers Parent Only Strategy Sessions where parents can ask questions and get on the same page with quick, practical parenting solutions that both parents agree on.

And our Online Parenting Bootcamp teaches the principles of PCIT and PC-CARE in a support group atmosphere from the comfort of your home.

Our Stance on Timeouts

A parent couple attends an online parenting course from the comfort of their home.
 
 

Let’s work together to transform your child's challenges into triumphs and increase the peace and connection in your home!