Child and Family Mental Health - Montgomery County, MD - Bethesda - Maryland - Child Therapist - Teen Adolescent Therapy Counseling - Washington, DC

Quality Therapy for You, Your Child, and Your Family

3930 Knowles Avenue :: Suite 200 and Suite 206 :: Kensington, MD 20895
phone: 301-466-9526 :: email us

  • Home
  • Services
    • Family Therapy
    • Couples Therapy
    • Individual Therapy
    • Play Therapy
    • Group Therapy
    • Referral and Advocacy
    • Parenting Consultations
    • Psychological Consultations and Evaluations
  • Forms
  • Our Clinicians
    • Jonah Green, LCSW-C
    • Ricardo “Ric” Andrews, LGPC
    • Heidi Cohen, LCSW-C, CGABS
    • Ashley Copeland, LCMFT
    • Katherine Doyle, LMSW
    • Jingshuai Du, Ph.D., LGMFT
    • Chris Erb, LGMFT
    • Jennifer Firestone, LCSW-C
    • Shannon Golub, MSW Student Intern
    • Paul Higgins, JD, LMSW
    • Sheva Melmed, LCSW-C
    • Yasmin Meyers, LCSW-C
    • Lori Rothfeld, JD, LMSW
    • Annie C. Scheiner, LCMFT
    • Abigail Schwartz, JD, LCSW-C
    • Farah Shirazi, LMSW
    • Jess Silbermann, LCSW-C
    • Kathy Voglmayr, LCSW-C
  • Blog
  • Resources For Families
    • Supports and Services for Children and Families
    • Recommended Providers for Children, Adolescents and Families
    • Recommended Books and Other Media
  • Resources For Clinicians
  • Contact

Welcome to Our Blog!

This blog is written by the clinicians at Jonah Green and Associates, a mental health practice based in Kensington, MD that provides quality services for children, teens, families, and adults. It is intended as a resource for families who are seeking to expand their knowledge about mental health and mental health services, and also as a resource for families who are seeking quality mental health services, especially in the mid-Atlantic region. Please feel free to post questions and comments on any of the entries as well as on any topics or articles from our companion web site www.childandfamilymentalhealth.com.

January 30, 2018

How to Identify Test Anxiety and Help Your Child Cope

Your child is sitting down to take an exam. His teacher or professor walks by, drops the test on his desk, and he immediately starts to panic. His palms are sweaty, and he cannot seem to remember any of the content he studied.  His heart is beating quickly, and he’s starting to feel light-headed.  He cannot seem to figure out why this always happens when he sits down to take a test.  Does this sound like a familiar scenario for your child? If the answer is yes, the cause might be test anxiety.

 

 

The American Test Anxieties Association (ATAA) asserts that the majority of students in the United States report that they are more stressed by tests and homework than by anything else.  This is quite a staggering statistic, isn’t it?  Test anxiety can lead to a variety of social and emotional symptoms, including school refusal, increased isolation, lower grades and test scores, negative thinking, difficulty concentrating, anger, and disappointment. As you can see, there are a lot of negative effects of test anxiety. Here’s the good news: test anxiety is treatable!

Here are three effective methods to help your child overcome this debilitating type of anxiety:

  1. Relax before and during the test

When we get anxious, our breathing typically speeds up to signify danger.  A lot of the physical symptoms mentioned (e.g., sweaty palms, lightheadedness, rapid heartbeat) start to occur when we feel we are in danger.  Once our breathing slows down, a signal is sent to the brain and body saying that we are safe. At this point, other physical symptoms begin to subside.  During a test, your child might feel himself becoming tense or nervous. This might be because he feels like he is faced with a dangerous situation! When he feels tension building, he should take a quick relaxation break.  Here are a few simple relaxation ideas that you can practice with your child to get him accustomed to utilizing these skills when he is anxious:

  • Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly after each one. Visualize the tension draining from your body as you breathe out.
  • Tense your muscles and hold for 5 seconds, then relax. Repeat 3 times.
  • Think of a peaceful, quiet setting (e.g., the beach). Imagine yourself calm and relaxed in that setting.
  1. Set realistic expectations

Part of your child’s anxiety might be stemming from unrealistic expectations. Help her set a realistic goal, based on past performance of homework and other study materials before she sits down to take her test. If she doesn’t get 100% on her test or exam, that’s okay! It’s important to help her uncouple her self-worth with her score on a test.

  1. Engage in Positive Self-Talk

If your child has studied effectively, it is likely that his confidence will be shaken if he thinks negative thoughts such as “I don’t have a chance of passing this exam!” You can help your child adopt an upbeat but realistic attitude by helping him replace his irrational negative thoughts with positive self-statements and practicing them before he takes his test.  For example, “I prepared carefully for this test. If I do my best, I have a good chance of doing great!” A few other examples of positive self-talk are: “I can do this!” “I am smart and capable!”

While these methods can be practiced together with your child and yield positive results, the help from a mental health professional to tailor a specific approach might be beneficial since each child is unique, with his or her own set of needs.

 

-Posted by Erin Futrovsky Gates, LGSW

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Anxiety, children and schools, Parenting Tagged With: anxiety, school, test anxiety, tests

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Our Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

RECENT POSTS

  • A Shared Space for Healing: Family Therapy for Addiction
  • Finding Trauma Treatment for Children in Your Care
  • For This New Year’s Resolution, Consider Adding a Self-Compassion Goal 
  • Understanding and Combating Anxiety
  • Increasing Our Wellbeing by Connecting with the Earth

Resources

  • Child and Family Mental Health Web Site
  • Co-parenting Resources
  • E-Group for Parents of School-age Children with Special Needs
  • Find a Therapist in Metro DC
  • Good Therapy Web Site
  • Help for your Anxious Child
  • Help for Your Depressed Teen
  • Resources For Families with Teens and Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Montgomery County, MD
  • Resources for Parents in Metro DC area
  • Setting Limits on Your Kids' Screen Time
  • Support for ADHD
  • Support for Stepfamilies
  • What to Expect from a Therapist

Topics

  • Addiction
  • ADHD
  • Adolescence and Young Adults
  • Adoption
  • Anxiety
  • Child Development
  • children and schools
  • communication
  • Couples
  • Disability and families
  • Families and Society
  • Family Therapy
  • General
  • Grief and Loss
  • Health
  • Managing Mood and Regulating Emotions
  • mental health
  • Parenting
  • Relationships
  • Self-Care
  • Separation, Divorce, and Stepfamilies
  • sexuality
  • Siblings
  • Social Media
  • Therapy
  • Trauma
  • Uncategorized

Jonah Green and Associates, LLC

Jonah Green and Associates, LLC is a highly regarded group of mental health clinicians who treat children, teens, and families with a variety of emotional, behavioral, and relationship concerns... read more
verified by Psychology Today verified by Psychology Today Directory Jonah Green - Wiser

RECENT POSTS

  • A Shared Space for Healing: Family Therapy for Addiction
  • Finding Trauma Treatment for Children in Your Care
  • For This New Year’s Resolution, Consider Adding a Self-Compassion Goal 
  • Understanding and Combating Anxiety
  • Increasing Our Wellbeing by Connecting with the Earth

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

SEARCH

Serving Maryland, Montgomery County, Kensington, Rockville, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Washington, DC

2023 © Jonah Green and Associates - Child and Family Mental Health
Website Design by: VanStudios