Treating your child’s school anxiety in Irvine and Newport Beach

Individual psychotherapy can play a powerful and transformative role in helping children reduce school-related anxiety and strengthen their resilience. In a one-on-one session with a Uram Family Therapy trained therapist, a child benefits from a safe, consistent relationship with a therapist who understands how stress, developmental changes, academic pressures, and social dynamics interact to create anxiety. Through this individualized approach, the therapist can tailor Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) techniques to the child’s unique temperament, learning style, cultural background, and specific fears surrounding school.

For example, CBT allows the therapist to help the child identify unhelpful thoughts, such as “I’m going to fail,” “Everyone will laugh at me,” or “I can’t handle tests” and gradually replace them with more accurate, balanced, and confidence-building beliefs. The therapist also guides the child through structured exposure exercises, helping them face previously avoided school situations step-by-step so they experience success, reduce avoidance, and build mastery.

ACT therapy complements this work by teaching the child how to notice anxious thoughts and physical sensations without being overwhelmed by them. Instead of fighting anxiety or waiting for it to disappear before returning to school activities, ACT helps the child learn mindfulness skills, increase psychological flexibility, and connect to personal values such as friendship, learning, curiosity, or perseverance to help them have a full toolbox of coping skills.

Over time, the therapist helps the child practice “doing what matters” even when anxiety shows up, which turns formerly distressing situations into opportunities for growth. This combination of CBT and ACT not only decreases symptoms but builds long-lasting resilience, because the child learns both how to reduce unnecessary worry and how to move forward even when some anxiety remains.

Individual psychotherapy is particularly effective because it allows the therapist to adapt the pace, tools, and focus of sessions to match the child’s developmental level and emotional readiness. Younger children may use play or art to explore feelings, while older children and teens may benefit from more direct cognitive work, skills training, and values-based goal setting. Throughout the process, the therapist provides steady emotional support, validation, and encouragement, helping the child feel understood and empowered. We involve parents in brief check-ins, where they learn practical strategies to support the child at home and school. This creates a consistent, reinforcing environment. We also offer private meetings with parents as well to help them learn approaches that they can use to help their children succeed.

There is evidence behind this as well. For example, Zisopoulou and Varvogli’s 2023 research paper on stress management methods highlights that individualized stress-management interventions are effective across many settings, and psychotherapy remains one of the most evidence-based methods for reducing anxiety and improving emotional functioning in children. Individual therapy aligns with these findings by offering a structured yet flexible environment where relaxation strategies, mindfulness, coping skills, and behavioral tools can be practiced and strengthened. As the child gains confidence, experiences success in formerly difficult school situations, and sees themselves as capable of managing stress, their symptoms diminish and their resilience grows.

In communities like Irvine and Newport, where academic expectations, transitions, and social demands can be high, individual psychotherapy provides children with the personal attention and tailored tools they need to feel calmer, more confident, and better equipped to thrive in school and beyond.