OP - thanks for the recommendations. Sending love and support to all.

I recommend the book Anxious Parents, Anxious Kids. Super enlightening to me how some of the stuff I thought was helping was actually increasing my child's anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:20 mg of Prozac is a very small dose. Talk to the doctor about increasing it, and perhaps adding something like Buspar to augment it.


For treatment resistant kid, I’d have conversations about if this is the way they want to feel and live forever, and how we live in a time when there are medical interventions like meds and therapies available to help. I’d insist that they come with me to therapy, so that they don’t feel they are the identified problem, but at least get into a therapy office.

Emphasize that this is a medical problem, and why not seek help like you would for any illness?

Thank you - this is helpful and I've tried the above strategies but will continue. I know she doesn't want to feel this way. I have also made similar statements about how she would take something if she didn't feel well. I'll just continue to offer to support. I like the idea of having her come with me to therapy although I may need to have her attend virtually with me to start. She did seek help while at school for a panic attack so that was good but didn't want to continue.

Check out the anxiety studies at NIH. My Dd did one and as part of the study, she received free counseling which included exposure therapy. It was so helpful.

20 mg of Prozac is a very small dose. Talk to the doctor about increasing it, and perhaps adding something like Buspar to augment it.


For treatment resistant kid, I’d have conversations about if this is the way they want to feel and live forever, and how we live in a time when there are medical interventions like meds and therapies available to help. I’d insist that they come with me to therapy, so that they don’t feel they are the identified problem, but at least get into a therapy office.

Emphasize that this is a medical problem, and why not seek help like you would for any illness?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op how old is your child? I am a therapist who treats social anxiety. Social anxiety needs to be treated with exposure work with a well trained therapist (not someone who has it listed along with 20 other specialties). If the person avoids everything that makes them uncomfortable they will stop doing everything. I recommend the book "how to be yourself: quiet your inner Critic and rise above social anxiety" by Ellen Hendriksen. Read it yourself and/or with your child.

Not OP, but I've lived with social anxiety my whole life. It never stopped me from doing things, other than I don't go to parties, but man, has it negatively affected my and now my kids' quality of life. I hope you can find a therapist like PP to help your kid, OP.

In what ways does it impact you and are you getting any sort of treatment? My nearing adulthood age child has pretty extreme anxiety and is resistant to medication and counseling. I can't force her to change anything but she doesn't want to do anything to help herself. I'm certain there's depression as well. I'm open to any suggestions on how I might be able to support her? She has a part time job and is taking some classes but doesn't see any friends. Willing to engage with family and friends who visit and happy to go with us to any family events or family friend events but doesn't really have her own friends. I'm open to ideas on how to help a child who is resistant to treatment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op how old is your child? I am a therapist who treats social anxiety. Social anxiety needs to be treated with exposure work with a well trained therapist (not someone who has it listed along with 20 other specialties). If the person avoids everything that makes them uncomfortable they will stop doing everything. I recommend the book "how to be yourself: quiet your inner Critic and rise above social anxiety" by Ellen Hendriksen. Read it yourself and/or with your child.

Not OP, but I've lived with social anxiety my whole life. It never stopped me from doing things, other than I don't go to parties, but man, has it negatively affected my and now my kids' quality of life. I hope you can find a therapist like PP to help your kid, OP.

We have a similar kid and we’ve been doing the exposure approach and CBT along with medication. But I’m starting to wonder if this is more RSD than social anxiety. Or perhaps our therapist isn’t specialized enough (small town with few options).

Has anyone had experience sorting through that distinction?

DS is able to readily explore/ engage with strangers when we travel on vacation. But anything to do with school/ classmates even outside of school seems to trigger huge anxiety. I had interpreted it as withdrawal, but the vacation difference caught my attention.

Anonymous wrote:This is more than ADHD so you need to go back for another assessment with an expert in anxiety and OCD. Not like a $6000 “neuropsych” but a consultation and then start therapy or take the additional steps recommended.

Plus you say you are getting meds so presumably there is a child psychiatrist involved? If so, they usually will recommend psychologists to work with your child which will be better than asking for names here.

Anonymous wrote:Op how old is your child? I am a therapist who treats social anxiety. Social anxiety needs to be treated with exposure work with a well trained therapist (not someone who has it listed along with 20 other specialties). If the person avoids everything that makes them uncomfortable they will stop doing everything. I recommend the book "how to be yourself: quiet your inner Critic and rise above social anxiety" by Ellen Hendriksen. Read it yourself and/or with your child.

Not OP, but I've lived with social anxiety my whole life. It never stopped me from doing things, other than I don't go to parties, but man, has it negatively affected my and now my kids' quality of life. I hope you can find a therapist like PP to help your kid, OP.

Op how old is your child? I am a therapist who treats social anxiety. Social anxiety needs to be treated with exposure work with a well trained therapist (not someone who has it listed along with 20 other specialties). If the person avoids everything that makes them uncomfortable they will stop doing everything. I recommend the book "how to be yourself: quiet your inner Critic and rise above social anxiety" by Ellen Hendriksen. Read it yourself and/or with your child.

Prozac is supposed to help with some forms of anxiety. Yes, talk to the doctor about whether it's worth it to try an increase.

Was there a trigger that set off the extreme social anxiety? You said he's medicated for both ADHD and anxiety. What is the other med? How old?

His age will make such a big difference. Is he in public school? Can you try a small private where the social demands aren't overwhelming?

This is more than ADHD so you need to go back for another assessment with an expert in anxiety and OCD. Not like a $6000 “neuropsych” but a consultation and then start therapy or take the additional steps recommended.

What age, OP? Was there counseling in his past and what was the result?

DS is ADHD and had some social anxiety. Has been medicated both. Recently the social anxiety has reached new levels - fear of everyone laughing at them, no social contact outside of school, etc. Self esteem and self worth are at an all time low.

Recommendations for good counselor that won’t make him feel ‘less than’ or that something is wrong with him? Should we increase dosage a currently 20mg Prozac.