Parents looking for ways to help a struggling young girl can learn about how we address Separation Anxiety Disorder at our all-girls boarding school near Austin, TX.
River View Christian Academy understands that parents want to send a young girl to a safe, monitored environment where she receives personal care, and individual support that help heal emotional and mental disorders–whether brought on by trauma, foster care, adoption or family genetics.
And while your young teen girl enrolls our year-round boarding school for improving her academic/life skills, River View Christian Academy also helps girl students struggling with Separation Anxiety Disorder improve their mental and physical health.
What Is Separation Anxiety Disorder?
Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is a condition in which a child becomes fearful and nervous when away from home or separated from a loved one — usually a parent or other caregiver — to whom the child is attached. Some children also develop physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomachaches, at the thought of being separated. The fear of separation causes great distress to the child and may interfere with their normal activities, like going to school or playing with other children.
Separation anxiety is normal in very young children (those between 8 and 14 months old). Kids often go through a phase when they’re “clingy” and afraid of unfamiliar people and places. When this fear affects a child over age 6 years, is heavy, or lasts longer than 4 weeks, the child may have separation anxiety disorder. Separation anxiety affects approximately 4%-5% of children in the U.S. ages 7 to 11 years. It is less common in teenagers, affecting about 1.3% of American teens. It affects boys and girls equally.
Symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder:
- An unrealistic and lasting worry that something bad will happen to the parent or caregiver if the child leaves
- An unrealistic and lasting worry that something bad will happen to the child if they leave the caregiver
- Refusal to go to school in order to stay with the caregiver
- Refusal to go to sleep without the caregiver being nearby or to sleep away from home
- Fear of being alone
- Nightmares about being separated
- Bed-wetting
- Complaints of physical symptoms, such as headaches and stomachaches
- Repeated temper tantrums or pleading
- Intense fear or guilt
Local Therapists Provide Professional Treatment of Separation Anxiety
That’s why River View connects parents with local therapists who can treat a young girl’s Separation Anxiety Disorder. Therapists address physical symptoms, identify anxious thoughts, help your daughter develop coping strategies, and foster problem solving. Professional treatment by local therapist for separation anxiety disorder may include:
Talk therapy. Talk therapy provides a safe place for your child to express their feelings. Having someone to listen empathetically and guide your child toward understanding their anxiety can be powerful treatment.
Play therapy. The therapeutic use of play is a common and effective way to get kids talking about their feelings.
Counseling for the family. Family counseling can help your child counteract the thoughts that fuel their anxiety, while you as the parent can help your child learn coping skills.
School-based counseling. This can help your child with separation anxiety disorder explore the social, behavioral, and academic demands of school.
Another goal of the therapy is to teach a student healthier ways of dealing with future situations. And we understand that it takes time to improve a student’s thoughts and actions. We want each student to experience effective counseling and treatment by local therapists, as well as improve daily life at school, and back home with family.
If you want to learn more about how we help young girl students struggling with Separation Anxiety Disorder at our year-round, all-girls boarding school, please call 1-800-494-2200.
River View is a private boarding school on 45 beautiful acres located near Austin, Texas. Our purpose is to provide a safe, structured, and supportive setting for our teen girl students 13-17 years old.
Created as a safe, structured environment for struggling students, our 45-acre campus (east of Austin, TX) offers teen girls their best opportunity to focus on education, avoid negative distractions and improve their thoughts and behavior for good.
At River View, we help struggling teen girls embrace a healthy outlook on life and teach them how to make good personal choices. Rather than telling them or pressuring them to act a certain way, we show students through loving redirection how to make right choices on their own. This learned skill can help them make better decisions as adults and take ownership of their actions and choices now.
River View provides 24-hour care and supervision, with strong structure, mentoring, and boundaries. Students are responsible for garden and animal chores, in addition to school and homework. Of course, there are fun school activities, as well as the amazing national parks in the area.
Give us a call to learn more! 1-800-494-2200
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