Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark Why Your Child’s Anxiety Might Be Coming From You | Sissy Goff, MEd, LPC-MHSP & David Thomas, LMSW
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Apr 3, 2026 
Sissy Goff, MEd, LPC-MHSP, child counselor and resilience coach; David Thomas, LMSW, seasoned adolescent therapist. They explore rising youth anxiety, how parental rescuing and tech shape avoidance, and why lost practice (post-COVID, fewer real-world risks) erodes capability. They discuss scaffolding courage, pushing for milestones like driving and sleepovers, and restoring calm authority to build competence.
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Parents Outsource Parental Intuition
- Parents increasingly distrust their intuition and outsource parenting answers to technology and apps, undermining confident decision making.
- David Thomas says this influx of information invites doubt instead of trusting the parent's knowledge of their child.
Mom's Anxiety Led To Hovering During Therapy
- Sissy describes an anxious eight-year-old whose mother shadowed every step, even sitting outside the office during the session.
- The mother later revealed her own anxiety history motivated hyper-protective behavior.
Give Kids Safe Opportunities To Struggle
- Allow kids to intentionally struggle in safe contexts so they can practice coping and build competence.
- Examples include joining a club where they don't know anyone or encouraging a teen to take driver's ed with scaffolding.
