Child and Adolescent Anxiety Program
Compassionate care for children and teens with anxiety
Part of Mental Health and Psychiatric Services
Our approach to caring for children with anxiety disorder
Children and teens can experience different types of anxiety disorders. Our mental health specialists will conduct a thorough evaluation to understand your child’s symptoms and treatment needs.
Your provider uses evidence-based diagnostic screening tools to better understand your child’s experience and symptoms. Your care team uses this evaluation to determine the type and severity of the anxiety disorder and works with you and your child to customize a treatment plan.
Anxiety looks different in different children. Your child may:
- Avoid activities that make them nervous or scared
- Get very uncomfortable in social situations
- Become excessively distressed if they have to be apart from parents or other caregivers
- Engage in compulsive behaviors
- Have panic attacks, nightmares, or physical symptoms like persistent stomachaches and headaches
- Avoid eating certain foods due to fears, such as vomiting or choking
- Not talk to unfamiliar people or not talk at all in certain situations
- Protest or refuse to go to school
- Struggle to sleep or fear staying in their bedroom alone
- Worry excessively about everyday situations
We help children and teens ages 6 to 19 who are experiencing anxiety associated with fears, such as separation, phobias, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We provide short-term, intensive CBT and exposure therapy to help your child gradually face their fears in a safe, supportive environment.
Your child receives care in a small group-based setting that allows them to learn, grow, and build confidence alongside peers who understand their struggles. This supportive setting helps young people stay motivated, practice new skills in real time, and see firsthand that they’re not alone.
To ensure that each child receives developmentally tailored care, we offer:
- Child track: For children ages 6 to 13
- Adolescent track: For teens aged 14 to 19
The Arlington School at McLean Hospital is a fully accredited, nationally recognized college preparatory high school for students with mental health challenges that interfere with schooling. We integrate strong academics with mental health support.
This private day school for grades 9 through 12 may be right for your child if they have:
- Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, ADHD, or other diagnoses that affect academic productivity and self-esteem
- Complex learning styles
- Disrupted educational experiences due to school absences
Related conditions and treatments
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Panic Attack
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety Disorders (Child)
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Selective Mutism
- Agoraphobia
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in Children
- Adjustment Disorders in Children
- Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
- PTSD Treatment
Contact the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Program
McLean Hospital
617-855-3141
Massachusetts General Hospital
617-724-5600