REPLAY: July 30, 2018
TITLE: “Adolescent Anxiety: Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms and Their Treatment”
SPECIAL GUEST: Dr. Alexander Young
According to Dr. Alexander Young, Director of Clinical Program Development and Outreach at Mountain Valley Treatment Center, anxiety is a normal part of adolescent development, and every individual will experience some episodes of stress, fear, and anxiety.
Although a typical phase is usually temporary and harmless, the almost 10 million children who have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder experience a range of disabling emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms to an extent that interferes with nearly all aspects of home and school life.
In many cases, the symptoms of anxiety will be experienced concurrently with other emotional or behavioral challenges. To make matters worse, the typical responses of denial, apathy, and avoidance are strategies that provide some immediate relief, but overtime, become equally as damaging as the anxiety itself.
One thing all the experts seem to agree on is how treatable childhood anxiety is. In our interview with Dr. Young, he explains why the first step to healing is for the youth to understand that they are not defined by their anxious temperament, or the anxiety they experience. Then, when armed with the right tools to use against their anxiety, they become empowered to “get over the fears.”
ABOUT DR. ALEXANDER YOUNG
Our Guest, Dr. Alexander Young, is the Director of Clinical Program Development and Outreach at Mountain Valley Treatment Center. His primary responsibility is building strong relationships with health professionals who treat Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. In addition, Dr. Young provides clinical consultation and training to the on-site clinical team. Dr. Young also serves as a member of the Admissions Committee. His participation helps ensure that appropriate candidates for treatment are approved for enrollment.
Dr. Young is a thoughtful and caring clinician who approaches therapy from an integrative perspective, drawing from behavioral, dynamic, systems, and experiential approaches. He completed his pre-doctoral training at the Edith Norse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital and his post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.
