BOY CRYING: ©ISTOCK; THERAPY: NOUN PROJECT
noted.
HEARTS AND MINDS how therapy can benefit your child WORDS
ALEXIS PATTERSON
S
ABRINA BLAKELY NOTICED HER SON’S INTENSE ANXIETY after a misunderstanding in the bathroom. Blakely (who asked to remain anonymous) found her son, then 4, trying to flush essentially a whole roll of toilet paper. “My reaction wasn’t the greatest,” the Frisco mom admits. “And I made a comment that he was going to flood the bathroom.” To a young child, the word flood was terrifying. In fact, Blakely’s son quit using that bathroom altogether. “He thought he would die by drowning in there,” she said. “And a small ceiling crack made him think our roof was going to collapse. There was nothing I could say that would calm him down.” That’s why Blakely, who had seen a counselor for years, decided to take her son to therapy. While his concerns were unreasonable, they were very real to him. dfwchild.com / may 2021
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