Skip to main content
Accessibility help
Home

Main Menu

  • Find
    • Doctors
    • Locations
    • Services
  • Do
    • Log in to MyLVHN
    • Pay a Bill
  • Explore
    • Give
Questions? Call 888-402-LVHN (5846) Contact Us

Careers

  • All Careers
  • Nursing Careers
  • Physician and APC Careers

Make an Appointment

  • Current Doctor
  • New doctor
  • First available
  • Video visit

COVID-19

  • Vaccines
  • Testing
  • News
  • View the Help Center

Patient Information

  • Patient & Visitor Information
  • Medical Records
  • Accepted Insurances
  • Financial Services
  • Children's Hospital
  • Institutes
  • Health Tips, Patient Stories & News
  • Events, Classes & Groups
  • Clinical Trials
  • About LVHN

For Providers

  • Refer a Patient
  • Careers
  • Research & Clinical Trials
  • Education
  • Children's Hospital
  • Institutes
  • About LVHN

Common Searches

  • Careers
  • Children's Hospital
  • Pay a Bill
  • Medical Records

Make an Appointment

Which would you like to do?

Make an appointment with your current doctor.
Make an appointment with a new doctor.
Find the first available appointment from our providers.
Schedule a Video Visit.
×

Are you currently a patient of ?

Yes I am currently a patient of
No I am not currently a patient of

Anxiety Disorders in Children

Anxiety disorders in children, mental health, SAD, GAD, OCD, PTSD, phobias, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, care team at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

  • More Information
  • More

    • Home
    • Doctors
    • Services
  • Home
  • Doctors
  • Services

Page Hierarchy

  1. Conditions
  2. Anxiety Disorders in Children

Many anxiety disorders that affect children and adolescents require clinical care by a doctor or other health care professional. The behavioral health team with Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital includes board-certified pediatric and adolescent psychiatrists, licensed doctoral-level psychologists, licensed psychiatric social workers and other mental health specialists. Our specialists provide customized treatment after careful evaluation of each young patient’s physical health, mental health and social and educational history.

All children and adolescents experience some anxiety as a normal part of growing up. However, when worries and fears are developmentally inappropriate, a disorder may be present.

Anxiety disorders are believed to be caused by biological, family and environmental factors. A chemical imbalance involving two chemicals in the brain (norepinephrine and serotonin) most likely contributes to anxiety disorders. Anxiety also can be learned from others or be triggered by a traumatic experience. The following are some of the more common anxiety disorders.

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD)

SAD is defined as excessive worry and fear about being apart from family members or individuals to whom a child is most attached. Children with SAD fear being lost from their family or fear something bad happening to a family member while they’re apart. Symptoms must last for at least four weeks to be considered SAD. Symptoms of SAD are more severe than the normal separation anxiety that nearly every child experiences to some degree between the ages of 18 months and 3 years of age.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

GAD is defined as chronic, excessive worry and fear that seems to have no real cause. Children or adolescents with GAD often worry a lot about things such as future events, past behaviors, social acceptance, family matters, their personal abilities and/or school performance.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Children with OCD have unreasonable thoughts, fears or worries that they try to manage by performing a ritual activity to reduce the anxiety. Frequently occurring disturbing thoughts or images are called obsessions, and the repeated rituals performed to try to prevent or dispel them are called compulsions. While symptoms of OCD do occur in children, it is recognized as a relatively common mental health disorder in adolescents, with up to 2 to 3 percent of children and adolescents having OCD.

Phobias

A phobia is an excessive, unreasonable fear or anxiety that is provoked by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation. Common phobias include fear of animals, blood, heights, closed spaces or flying.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

PTSD is a debilitating condition that often follows a terrifying physical or emotional event, causing persistent, frightening thoughts and memories (flashbacks) of the ordeal. PTSD can develop immediately or six months or more after an event. Some people with PTSD have long-term emotional effects, and PTSD in children usually becomes a chronic disorder.

Schedule a visit

Choose one of our child and adolescent psychiatrists if your child needs care for behavioral or mental health concerns.

Find a doctor
Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital

Your children mean the world to you

At Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, we take the very best care of them.

Learn about Children's Hospital

Customer Service

Call 888-402-LVHN (5846)
Contact Us
Mon - Fri:
7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday:
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday:
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Support

  • For Referring Physicians
  • For Health Professionals
  • For Employers
  • Website Feedback
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

About LVHN

  • About Us
  • Give
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Health Tips, News & Stories
  • Events
  • Shop

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

©2023 Lehigh Valley Health Network