HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Getting help for my child with anxiety
Whai āwhina mō taku tamaiti mānawanawa
There are lots of things you can do to get help for an anxious tamaiti (child).
Talk to your general practice team first. If necessary, they can refer your tamaiti for more specialised assessment and treatment.
Talking therapy
To help a tamaiti struggling with anxiety, it is always necessary to look at the whole whānau (family) situation. If a parent is anxious, stressed or unhappy, it is very likely that their tamaiti will have difficult emotions to manage. Getting help for the parent's problem will also help the anxiety of the tamaiti.
Support will focus on:
- supporting the whānau to make changes at home to reduce any causes of stress
- helping the tamaiti and parents understand what is at the heart of the anxiety
- teaching the parent to respond to stress in a healthy way. This means the tamaiti can follow their parent's example and respond differently to anxious thoughts.
If the anxiety your tamaiti has does not respond to other measures, you may need a referral to Canterbury DHB Child, Adolescent and Family Community Mental Health Services.
You could also arrange to see a private psychologist or psychiatrist (mental health doctor).
Your general practice team can help you find a therapist or refer you for some free counselling. You can find a counsellor, therapist or psychiatrist in the Family Services Directory. Some therapy options will cost. Your general practice team can talk through the approximate cost with you.
Social support
There are several services providing support for parents. You can find many of these in the Family Services Directory.
If you need help finding the right service, contact Right Service Right Time. A service coordinator can help you find the most appropriate and available services. Phone (03) 378-2782 or 027-654-7788, email info@rightservice.org.nz or visit the Right Service Right Time website.
HealthInfo recommends the following videos
- Whāraurau – Drive series of videos
This series of videos is designed to help rangatahi (young people) and their whānau (families). They show how to navigate your way through child and adolescent mental health services. The videos show examples of different kinds of therapies and health professionals who work in these services. They also include information about medications that are sometimes used. Each video is around 5 minutes long.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed January 2025.
SourcesReview key: HIAXC-538744
