Overcoming Parental Anxiety: Rewire Your Brain to Worry Less and Enjoy Parenting More

Be the calm and collected parent you aspire to be with this powerful, neuroscience-based guide.

Do you worry about your child all the time? Maybe they are behind on certain milestones, struggling in school, having difficulty making friends, or heading off to college and away from home for the first time. Their problems or struggles become your own, and you end up feeling so anxious that you forget what it's like to just enjoy being their parent. The good news is that you can rewire your "parent brain" to respond differently to these challenges. This book will show you how to replace parental anxiety with parental effectiveness.

In Overcoming Parental Anxiety, three anxiety specialists team up to help you change your anxious brain using the core principles of neuroscience and exercises from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness. You'll learn how to overcome worry by identifying your parental values, paying attention to the moment, and cultivating self-compassion. Most importantly, you'll find targeted exercises to help minimize parenting related worry and anxiety, so you can live more fully and enjoy the shared experiences you have with your children.

Thanks to the brain's lifelong ability to create new neural connections, you can achieve that coveted and elusive sense of calm that seems to come so easily to some parents. And by practicing the simple neuroscience-based skills in this book, you can overcome your parental anxiety, stress less, and be more present with your kids. Why not get started now?

Debra Kissen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, and CEO of Light On Anxiety CBT Treatment Center. Kissen specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety and related disorders, and is coauthor of The Panic Workbook for Teens, Rewire Your Anxious Brain for Teens, and Break Free from Intrusive Thoughts. Kissen also has a special interest in the principles of mindfulness and their application for anxiety disorders, and has presented her research on CBT and mindfulness-based treatments for anxiety and related disorders at regional and national conferences.

Kissen is cochair of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Public Education Committee, and was recipient of the 2020 Gratitude for Giving Spirit Award and the 2018 ADAA Member of Distinction Award. Kissen often serves as a media psychologist, and strives to further the dissemination of empirically supported treatment information by offering simple-to-understand, practical tips and solutions to help mental health consumers move past stress and anxiety.

Micah Ioffe, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders across the life span, with a particular interest and specialized training in the treatment of selective mutism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs). Ioffe is a member of the ADAA, the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), and the Selective Mutism Association. She is coauthor of Rewire Your Anxious Brains for Teens and Break Free from Intrusive Thoughts.

Ioffe utilizes empirically supported approaches in her work with clients, including CBT, exposure and response prevention (ERP), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Ioffe has authored multiple research publications, and presented her research on parent-adolescent communication and its influences on anxiety and related disorders at regional and national conferences.

Hannah Romain, LCSW, is a therapist and clinical supervisor in Chicago, IL; specializing in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders across the life span. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and a member of the ADAA and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

Romain specializes in the use of evidence-based practices, including CBT and ERP, for the treatment of anxiety and related disorders--including OCD, panic, specific phobias, and BFRBs. In her practice, she works to harness clients' innate abilities with empirically supported treatments to promote empowered and authentic living.

Foreword writer Karen L. Cassiday, PhD, is owner and clinical director of the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago, the upper Midwest's longest-running exposure-based treatment center for anxiety disorders. She has served as president of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), and is clinical assistant professor in the department of clinical psychology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Sciences.