Helping Kids Thrive This School Year with EMDR Therapy
The back-to-school season can be exciting—but for many kids, it also brings up big feelings. New classrooms, teachers, friends, and expectations can create anxiety that feels overwhelming. Whether your child is worried about making friends, facing test-taking stress, or struggling with low self-confidence, these challenges are very real and deserve support. For children who are also navigating grief or past trauma, the return to school can feel even heavier.
As a child and teen therapist who utilizes EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), I often work with students who feel stuck in cycles of worry, self-doubt, or sadness. Here are some of the most common struggles kids face during the back-to-school transition—and how therapy can help.
Back-to-School Anxiety
It’s normal for kids to feel nervous about a new school year, but sometimes that anxiety lingers or shows up as physical symptoms like stomachaches, trouble sleeping, or frequent meltdowns. EMDR therapy helps children process anxious thoughts and reframe them so school feels less scary and more manageable.
Test-Taking Stress
Even kids who do well academically can experience test anxiety. The pressure to perform can leave them feeling frozen or unable to show what they know. By reducing the emotional charge around stressful memories and building positive coping strategies, therapy can help children feel calmer and more confident when it’s time to take a test.
Building Self-Confidence
Back-to-school transitions can stir up self-doubt: Will I make friends? Will I fit in? Am I good enough? EMDR helps children let go of negative beliefs they may be carrying about themselves. Over time, they can replace those beliefs with a stronger sense of resilience, confidence, and joy in learning.
Supporting Kids Through Grief
For children who have lost a loved one or are living with a parent’s serious illness, the classroom can be a reminder of what’s missing at home. They may feel different from their peers, or struggle to concentrate under the weight of grief. Therapy offers them a safe space to express feelings, find healthy ways to cope, and regain a sense of stability. After processing through grief, EMDR can be used for kids who experienced a traumatic death of a loved one, or maladaptive beliefs about themselves.
A Supportive Start to the School Year
Every child deserves to feel safe, capable, and confident as they step into the classroom. If your child is struggling with back-to-school anxiety, test-taking stress, grief, or self-doubt, therapy can help them build the skills they need to thrive.
If you’d like to learn more about how EMDR therapy for children and teens can support your family, I invite you to reach out for a consultation. Together, we can help your child start the school year with more peace, confidence, and hope.
