Anxiety Counselling for Children & Teens - Geelong.
Worry is a normal part of growing up. But sometimes it starts to take over.
Your child might ask the same questions again and again, struggle to sleep, get stuck in “what if” thoughts or start avoiding things they used to manage. School, friendships, social situations or even everyday routines can begin to feel harder than they should.
For teenagers, anxiety can be less obvious. They might seem withdrawn, exhausted, irritable, overwhelmed, perfectionistic or constantly on edge.
At Lumi Counselling, I work with children and teenagers in Geelong who are dealing with anxiety, overthinking and feeling overwhelmed. The goal is not to get rid of every anxious feeling. It is to help young people understand what is happening, feel less controlled by anxiety and build confidence in handling difficult moments.
When does worry become something more?
It is not always easy to tell when normal worry has crossed over into anxiety.
You might notice your child:
Avoiding school, sport or social situations
Asking for reassurance over and over
Struggling with sleep
Complaining of headaches or stomach aches
Getting stuck on worst-case scenarios
Becoming more irritable or emotional
Avoiding new experiences
Being extremely hard on themselves
Overthinking conversations or mistakes
Feeling overwhelmed by situations they used to manage
Sometimes anxiety is obvious. Other times it shows up as anger, shutdown, perfectionism or avoidance.
Anxiety does not always look anxious
Not every anxious child looks nervous.
Some talk constantly about what they are worried about. Others go quiet. Some become clingy, some get angry, and some start avoiding anything that feels uncomfortable.
Teenagers can be especially good at holding it together during the day and falling apart once they get home.
That is why I do not use the same approach with every young person. We start by understanding what anxiety actually looks like for them and how it is affecting their life.
Practical support that makes sense outside the counselling room
I do not want children or teenagers leaving counselling with a list of strategies that sound good in theory but are impossible to remember when anxiety actually hits.
Sessions at Lumi are practical and relaxed. Depending on the young person, we might work on:
Understanding what anxiety is doing in the body
Recognising anxious thought patterns
Stepping back from unhelpful thoughts
Gradually reducing avoidance
Building confidence with difficult situations
Handling uncertainty
Managing the physical symptoms of anxiety
Working out what is within their control
Developing simple grounding and regulation strategies
For younger children, that work might happen through games, drawing, movement or activities. With teenagers, sessions might involve conversation, walking, practical exercises or working through situations that are happening in real life.
What if my child keeps saying “I don’t know”?
That is incredibly common.
Children and teenagers do not always have the words to explain why they feel anxious. Sometimes they genuinely do not know.
I do not expect them to walk into counselling and immediately explain everything that is going on.
Instead, we can start with the pieces they do know. What happens before school. What their body feels like when anxiety shows up. What thoughts appear at night. What they have started avoiding. What makes things a little easier.
Those small pieces can gradually help us understand the bigger picture.
When anxiety starts affecting school
For some young people, anxiety becomes closely tied to school.
Mornings might turn into a battle. They may complain of feeling sick, become highly distressed, refuse to get dressed or repeatedly ask to stay home.
Other young people still get through the school gates, but spend the day anxious, overwhelmed and exhausted.
Counselling can help young people understand what is driving the anxiety and build skills to respond differently. Where appropriate, I can also work alongside parents to create a more consistent and supportive approach at home.
Supporting parents as well
Anxiety rarely affects only the child.
Parents can find themselves reassuring, negotiating, encouraging, pushing and protecting, sometimes all before breakfast.
There is no perfect response.
Where appropriate, I work alongside parents to help them understand what may be happening and find ways to support their child without accidentally allowing anxiety to take over more and more of family life.
The aim is to help your child feel supported while also building their confidence and independence.
Lumi Counselling is based in Geelong and supports children, teenagers and families from across Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and the Surf Coast.
If anxiety or overthinking is starting to get in the way of school, friendships, sleep, family life or everyday confidence, you can book a free meet and greet to talk through what has been happening and whether Lumi might be the right fit.