Selective Mutism is an anxiety-disorder of childhood where a child demonstrates an inability to speak in certain social environments. A child may have difficulty speaking in one environment (speaks at home, but not at school) or multiple environments (does not speak at home or school). Selective Mutism is associated with functional impairments in educational, familial, social, or occupational settings. Left untreated, Selective Mutism may lead to increased stress within family units, decreased academic performance, and decreased socialization needed for appropriate development.

Back-to-school time is just around the corner and for children struggling with anxiety, it can be a time of increased stress (both for children and their families). Below are some tips that can help parents and kids feel more prepared for the transition back to school: Begin initiating expected bedtime and morning routines several weeks before school resumes: It is typically pretty challenging to switch from a relaxed summer schedule to a structured school schedule.

A lot of us are great at being compassionate toward others though find it hard to extend that same compassion toward ourselves. We have a harder time accepting ourselves for all that we are, especially when we make mistakes, do not meet standards we have set for ourselves, or experience some kind of loss. Acceptance does not mean we have to like, enjoy or want more of the painful experience we are in. It simply means we are dropping the fight with reality, which is something we must do in order to change an undesirable reality.

Your teen has withdrawn to their room, the light is off, their face illuminated by the glow of their phone. You bravely pop your head into their room and let them know dinner’s ready, but they don’t respond. You ask what’s wrong, and get a one-word answer in response: “Nothing.” You notice they’ve been crying, so you ask if they want to talk about it. “Nothing’s wrong!” they snap back. Part of you thinks this is normal teen development and those hormones everyone talks about, but you can’t ignore the nagging feeling that there’s something more going on.

It's summer, and our awesome team is busy doing amazing things! Training, expanding the accessibility of evidence-based treatment for anxiety and OCD, and giving back to our community are values that are especially important to us at Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists. This month we are excited to spotlight our two amazing therapists, Rebecca Athanason, LCSW and Jhana Rice, LPC, who are doing just that!

The International OCD Foundation explains that individuals with OCD have higher rates of eating disorders (about 11 to 17%), so if you or a loved one find yourself struggling with both OCD and an eating disorder, you are not alone. You are also in the right place. It can be overwhelming to have to switch gears and begin looking for new resources and treatments. Below are clinician-approved resources to help you on your journey:

It is common to feel nervous in some social situations. Many people feel anxious going on a date, interviewing for a job, or giving a presentation. However, in contrast to shyness or nervousness, social anxiety disorder is characterized by significant fear, worry, and avoidance of social interactions that interferes with school, work, relationships, and other activities.

In most of Western society, men are often expected to be “strong and in control” (Mental Health Foundation, 2), and while this is not a bad thing, it can make it more difficult for men to access the help they need. Because of the stigma around men’s mental health as well as being culturally conditioned to keep most observations around one’s feelings internally, “men may also be more likely to use potentially harmful coping methods such as drugs or alcohol and less like to talk to family or friends” (Mental Health Foundation, 2).

It can be a struggle for people of all ages to step away from screens, and limits on screen time can be a frequent source of conflict between parents and their children. Why is it so hard for us to step away from screens? It boils down to neurotransmitters, especially dopamine. Dopamine is commonly thought of as a reward neurotransmitter.

One of the most common things I hear from parents when they bring their child into the office for treatment of selective mutism is: “I hadn’t even heard of this!” or “We’ve had them in speech therapy this whole time, even though they speak perfectly at home!” This is largely due to a misunderstanding of selective mutism and a lack of overall awareness of the disorder. Many caregivers as well as healthcare and school professionals haven’t heard of selective mutism and attribute a lack of speaking to the fact that a child is “shy.”

Parenting an adolescent comes with a unique set of challenges. Many of the pressures that teens are dealing with today are new. Social media and the competitiveness of college acceptance, along with the lasting effects of the pandemic, all contribute to the pressures facing adolescents. Add on additional struggles with general anxiety, OCD, social anxiety, testing anxiety, and parenting can feel overwhelming. Below are some suggestions to help guide you through this stage:

Austin Anxiety and OCD Specialists provides exposure and response prevention for clients experiencing OCD and phobias throughout the Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Austin area. Exposure and Response and Prevention (ERP) is typically used alongside another therapeutic modality (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) in the treatment of OCD, phobias, anxiety, and eating disorders.

In every family, there will be times when children refuse to cooperate and argue with

their parents, resulting in conflict. Parenting during these times can be frustrating and tiring,

especially when you are not sure how to respond to your child’s behavior. Luckily, there are

some specific parenting strategies that have been shown through research to be effective in

fostering a strong parent-child relationship and increasing cooperation in children.

Teens are experiencing higher levels of anxiety than before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to what is being referred to as a “mental health crisis.” Many children and teens with anxiety set high expectations for themselves, and this leads to increased anxiety. While many parents do set high expectations for their children, it’s not uncommon for parents to report that their teens are harder on themselves than anyone else.

“Do you think I’m going to be okay?”

That’s a real text (or at least a variation of one) that I sent to my mom, every day (sometimes multiple times per day) throughout the entirety of my college career. I was deep in an anxiety spiral that I had no real insight into, beyond that creeping feeling of “something is wrong.” At the time, I had no inkling that there could be a version of life where anxiety didn’t have such a strong impact on me.

Is Therapy Right for You?

It seems that therapy has become somewhat of a social media trend. Which, while wonderful, may lead to those who are not yet ready for therapy deciding, after a few sessions, that therapy is not for them. So, how does someone figure out if they are ready to begin their therapy journey?

When you hear the phrase “mental health treatment”, what do you picture? Is it a therapist’s office in a high-rise building? Maybe it is a large healthcare facility. Maybe it is a center on a ranch in another state. Mental health treatment can look like a lot of different things! In the same way we need individually tailored approaches to treatment, we also need different levels of care to accommodate varied levels of mental health concerns. Below are some of the most common levels of care currently in place for mental health treatment.

Emetophobia is an excessive fear of vomiting. Emetophobia is often classified as a Specific Phobia, however, there is also thought that it could be considered under the umbrella of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

We can probably say with quite a bit of confidence that none of us really like vomit. The difference between individuals with and without emetophobia is that those with emetophobia truly fear vomit and the act of vomiting.

When anxiety and depression find their way into your world, whether personally, with a family member or dear friend, they have a way of getting us stuck, and pull us from the things we care most about. It’s as if you are frozen, clinging to a boulder, afraid to look around, wanting to go upward, and unsure of the next step. In Acceptance and Commitment therapy, or ACT, this “stuckness” is called psychological inflexibility.

Spring is here – and by every way of its arrival, so is testing season in schools. Testing can bring up anxiety in any child, and as a parent, it is difficult to know how to best support your child. Testing anxiety, which is also considered performance anxiety, involves the fear of being judged as inadequate, as well as the fear of underperforming or making a mistake and of failure and/or rejection.

Children with anxious temperaments or those who worry about making mistakes or performing in general are particularly susceptible to feeling test anxiety. Usually when a child thinks that they aren’t going to do well on a test, then they tend to feel more anxious going in.