Creating a M.A.P.

Now that you are becoming more knowledgeable about anxiety, we encourage you and your child to begin using a range of effective tools to systematically reduce unwanted worry and to better cope with the daily challenges your child may face. One way to do this is by developing a M.A.P. (My Anxiety Plan), with your child. The tools outlined in the individual M.A.P. sections are intended for use when your child is struggling to tolerate the unwanted sensations, urges, thoughts, and feelings that come with stress and worry. As a result, they can help your child to float with his/her stress and worry, rather than trying to change, control, or eliminate it. These tools support increased tolerance of anxiety and healthy coping, in a calm and mindful way.

Below, you’ll find a list of M.A.P. templates based on 9 common areas of childhood anxiety.

Within each category there is a customized list of information and activity worksheets that may be useful in helpfing your child with his/her specific area of worry. These lists represent a resource of simple, step-by-step instructions on how to help your anxious child cope with specific situations. These include back-to-school worries, dealing with nightmares, or having difficulty making friends. There is also a range of practical coping tools to address specific anxiety disorders. We encourage you and your child to use these templates as a guide, although you can easily create your own personalized M.A.P. by selecting tools from the list of tools in the lefthand navigation bar.

Creating a M.A.P.

Creating a M.A.P.

Template M.A.P.s