Since the start of COVID, child and adolescent rates of anxiety have doubled globally.  At the same time, adults have also reported significantly higher levels of anxiety which makes the daily tasks of parenting even more challenging.  While this may sound discouraging, we have an opportunity to educate ourselves on mental health and develop a valuable dialogue about these issues with our children.  We will discuss strategies for fostering communication about anxiety, provide parenting tips for supporting our children when they are anxious, and identify strategies to help parents manage their own anxiety.

About the Presenter:

Laura Berness, PhD is a Licensed Psychologist who specializes in children, adolescents, and parenting.   She earned her BA in Psychology at Rutgers University, and her MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton.  Dr. Berness is the founder of Stepping Stones Psychological Services of Princeton, LLC.  In her practice, she has experience working with a wide array of disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, school refusal, and others.  Her experience also includes training in pediatric psychology issues such as adjusting to chronic medical conditions, medication refusal, pain management, and toileting problems. Prior to engaging in a full-time clinical practice, Dr. Berness served as a tenured Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ), where she conducted research primarily in the area of pediatric psychology and taught various Psychology courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.  Most importantly, she is the mom of three boys.