Parenting Expert Dr David Coleman: Reframing Anxiety in Children and Teens on Nationwide Tour

Do you have a child or teen struggling with anxiety? Renowned clinical psychologist and Ireland’s most-followed parenting expert Dr David Coleman is set to embark on a nationwide tour as he aims to ‘help children and teens cope with anxiety’.

Dr David Coleman, expert on parenting, child and adolescent wellbeing and development, wants to reframe anxiety as a normal part of children and adolescents' development. He feels we need to understand anxiety better, as a feeling that's perfectly normal - and which most children and teens go through - rather than viewing it as an illness or mental health issue.

David, who specialises in working with children, teenagers and their families in this area, will visit venues around the country to offer concrete and practical tips to adults on how to help children deal with the stresses and pressures in their lives. From his many years of working both in the HSE and now in private practice, in addition to his successful TV shows, three parenting books and being the most-followed Irish parenting expert with over 130,000 followers on Instagram, David has combined his knowledge to offer parents and adults working with this age group a trustworthy, easy-to-digest session.

Incorporating an hour-long presentation and a 30-minute audience Q&A, and receiving rave reviews from audience members, David has decided to take the show on the road starting in Co Clare in October. David will also head to Donegal, Galway, Westmeath, Sligo, Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Louth, Kilkenny and Dublin before finishing up in Carlow in November.

Reframing Anxiety as a Normal Part of Development

Dr Coleman believes that anxiety, while a common concern for children and teenagers, shouldn't be viewed as a mental illness. “I've long realised that anxiety in this age-group is a problem that only ever seems to be growing. In recent years, though, anxiety seems to have become pathologised by kids and parents, as some kind of mental illness,” Dr Coleman explained.

“Many teenagers who attend me in my private practice announce to me that they ‘have anxiety’ like they have Covid or the 'flu, or some other disease. This is never a helpful way to conceptualise anxiety since anxiety is always going to be a transitory feeling like happiness, sadness, anger and so on.

“You never hear anyone saying they have ‘happiness’ as a defining feature of their lives.”

Dr Coleman's approach emphasizes the importance of understanding and managing anxiety, rather than eliminating it entirely. “My goal in this tour, then, is to reframe anxiety as a normal, functional and important part of children's and teenagers' lives that needs to be regulated, not eliminated.

“There is plenty for kids to be anxious about with social media, school, bullying, perceptions of friends, self-consciousness and so on. But kids need to understand that being anxious about things is natural, not ‘a mental health issue’.

“The talk will help parents understand anxiety better and give them practical tools that they can use and share with their kids for coping with anxiety such that it doesn't block their kids from doing what they might want or need to do.”

The Importance of Practical Tools

Dr Coleman's tour is designed to empower parents with the knowledge and skills needed to support their children through their anxieties. The talks will provide parents with practical tools and strategies that can be used in everyday life to help children manage their anxieties.

Dr Coleman's nationwide tour is a timely initiative, considering the increasing prevalence of anxiety among children and teenagers. His message of reframing anxiety as a normal part of life, rather than a mental health issue, offers a refreshing perspective that can help parents and children navigate the challenges of anxiety in a more constructive way.