HealthQ’s Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer share know-how for parents navigating the decision to seek out mental healthcare for a child.
(Candice Evers for WPLN and KFF Health News)
Divorce rocked the lives of Marcela Cabay and her daughter, who was a preschooler at the time. But counseling didn’t come until years later, when Cabay noticed her daughter was tensing up every time a storm rolled through or whenever they were preparing to be apart.
“She was experiencing just a lot of anxiety, really starting to think worst-case scenarios all the time, just really struggling in her daily life,” said Cabay, who is a life insurance broker outside Austin, Texas.
At first, Cabay attempted to help her daughter herself. She suggested coping strategies for the 8-year-old to regulate her emotions. She hoped the behavior would pass. But, over time, the anxiety got worse.
