Virginia therapist talks ways to relieve back-to-school anxiety

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- 8News asked parents this summer about any mental health questions they had for their students heading back to school. Many responded wanting to know about positive ways for their kids to cope with anxiety, stress and peer pressure.

We then took these concerns to a licensed professional counselor for insight.

Anna McChesney, owner of the Center for Creative Healing, is a board-certified therapist and mother, herself. She said the start of the school year can be one of the most stressful times for the entire family because there are so many changes happening at once.

McChesney advises parents not to allow their own stress to transfer onto their children, making their child’s anxiety worse.

When it comes to students who may be dealing with peer pressure or other stressors at school, McChesney gives this advice to parents: Ask open-ended questions.

“Especially for teenagers who like to have one-word grunts as answers, having open-ended questions allows them to answer however they're feeling and [share] whatever information they feel like is relevant,” McChesney said.

She provided further advice on the sorts of questions parents can try to ask.

"Even the 'How was your day?' question -- Well, 'fine' is going to be the answer," she said. "So even that question could be reframed to, 'What was the coolest thing that happened today?' or 'What was the strangest thing that happened today?' -- just so that there's a bigger opening for more information.”

McChesney said more research shows that social anxiety in children has increased greatly over the years alongside cell phone and social media use.

8News asked her about ways to deal with social anxiety, especially as it pertains to cell phone use. She said finding points of connection – including friend groups and extracurricular activities -- can help combat all mental health struggles.

McChesney added that many students have an overwhelming feeling of not belonging, and that school is one of the first places where we truly learn how to socialize and make friends.

She advised delaying and limiting cell phone use with your children as much as possible in order to promote good social skills. If you see your child shying away from meeting people and not interacting as much, simply practice socializing with your kids.

McChesney explained that parents can get their kids out of their comfort zones in a few ways.

“Putting your children in settings in which they can practice -- so different classes or groups, in which different people are new and there's different mixes of people, gives opportunity to practice," she said. "I would also suggest there being times [in] the day that the phones are down and there is purposeful eye-to-eye contact and communication and practicing kindness."

Additionally, McChesney suggested parents find some tech-free time to engage in something their child is really interested in.