Separation anxiety

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No treatment is necessary for ordinary separation anxiety.

If medical procedures are needed while a child is in this stage, it is helpful for a parent to accompany the child whenever possible. When a parent cannot accompany the child, prior exposure to the situation is helpful, for example, visiting the doctor's office in advance of a test. When this is not possible, the child may display severe anxiety by crying, resisting treatment, begging, and screaming.

Some hospitals provide Child Life specialists who specialize in explaining procedures and medical conditions to children of all ages. If your child is particularly anxious and needs significant medical care, it may help to ask your health care provider about such services.

When separation from parents is necessary, but prior exposure is not possible (such as for surgical treatment), many physicians will recommend the child take mild sedating or tranquilizing medications to help reduce the trauma.

Explain the situation and experience to the child and assure him or her that a parent is waiting, and specifically, explain WHERE the parent is waiting.

For older children who have not outgrown separation anxiety within the normal developmental timetable or who have regressed to it under stress, effective treatments may include counseling for the parents and child, changes in parenting techniques, and anti-anxiety medications.

Treatment for severe cases may include individual psychotherapy, family education, and family therapy.

Young children with symptoms that improve after age 2 are normal, even if there is some later return of anxiety during stress. When separation anxiety occurs in adolescence, the prognosis is less clear and it may signal the development of an anxiety disorder.

Call your health care provider if your child has significant separation anxiety after age 2.

Review Date: 05/08/2004
Reviewed By: Katrina McPherson, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.