Helping Kids Who Avoid or Have Trouble at School

Watershed counsels children and adolescents experiencing problems at school including social anxiety, bullying, and behavioral issues.

When treating children, we use Gaining Assertiveness skills and other social skills to improve confidence. We help children by providing a supportive and safe environment to process feelings such as anger, shame, fear, anxiety, and isolation.
We help children by providing a supportive and safe environment to process their feelings.

Social Anxiety at School

When your child refuses or avoids going to school or is overly attached for their age and development, it may be possible that your could have some social, separation, or performance anxiety. This can also manifest in a child exhibiting negative behaviors that are not normal for them such as anger outbursts, irritability, crying, talking back, or being a bully to others.

Bullying at School

Children can experience bullying at school, causing them trauma, fear, and worry. Below are some types of bullying that children experience.

Physical Bullying

Hitting, punching, pinching, pushing, tripping, spitting, making rude or mean hand gestures.

Verbal Bullying

Teasing, inappropriate sexual comments, threatening to cause harm, name calling, insults, intimidation.

Social Bullying

Lying and spreading rumors, mimicking, convincing others to socially exclude an individual, telling other children to not be friends with someone, embarrassing someone in public.

Cyber Bullying

Via text messages, E-mail, social media, websites geared towards bullying one individual.

A child who is being cyber bullied will usually display symptoms included but not limited to:

  • Sadness
  • Irritability
  • Not wanting to go to school
  • Anxiety
  • Fear
  • Use of alcohol and drugs to cope with stress
  • Skipping school
  • Poor grades
  • Lower self-esteem
  • Health problems
Kids who are being cyber bullied are often bullied in person as well. In addition,
these children have a harder time getting away from it due to the fact that it can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, day or night.
If your child is experiencing school phobia or anxiety, Watershed can help. Please click below to schedule an appointment.