How to Support Your Teen with Anxiety
How to Support Your Teen with Anxiety: An Art Therapist’s Perspective
By Emily Davenport, LCAT, ATR-BC
Anxiety is on the rise among teens—and it’s no wonder. With constant academic pressure, social media influence, global uncertainty, and the developmental demands of adolescence, today’s teens face more stressors than ever before. As a parent or caregiver, watching your teen struggle with anxiety can feel overwhelming and heartbreaking. You want to help, but it can be hard to know where to start, what to say, or how to truly connect.
As a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and the author of Social Skills for Teens with Anxiety, I’ve supported hundreds of teens and families through the complexities of anxiety. In this blog, I’ll share practical, compassionate strategies from an art therapist’s lens to help you build a supportive foundation for your teen. Whether your teen is experiencing social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, or perfectionism-driven distress, these tips will help you show up in the most grounding and effective way.
1. Start by Understanding Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t just "nervousness" or “overreacting.” It’s a physiological and emotional response to perceived danger—even when the danger isn’t obvious. For teens, anxiety often shows up as:
Avoidance of school, social situations, or responsibilities
Irritability, outbursts, or withdrawal
Trouble sleeping or eating
Excessive worrying or perfectionism
Physical symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, or fatigue
It’s essential to approach your teen’s anxiety as valid—not something to be “fixed” or dismissed. Creating a safe space for their experience begins with education and empathy.
📘 Helpful resource: Anxiety in Teens – Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA)
2. Connect Before You Correct
Teen brains are still developing. They are wired for emotional reactivity and often struggle with rational decision-making under stress. As a parent, your first instinct might be to lecture or solve the problem. Instead, try co-regulating first.
Offer a calming presence. Slow your own breath and tone.
Use validating language: “I see you’re feeling really overwhelmed. That makes sense.”
Sit beside them rather than across from them.
Ask, “Do you want to talk about it or just be together for now?”
Art therapists often use non-verbal methods to facilitate this connection. Drawing together, painting silently, or even doodling side-by-side can help teens feel less pressure to speak while still feeling supported.
🖌️ Tip: Keep a “worry journal” or shared sketchbook where you and your teen can express thoughts, doodles, or feelings without judgment.
3. Encourage Creative Expression
Teens often lack the vocabulary or self-awareness to describe what they’re feeling. Art therapy offers a powerful outlet to express internal chaos in a tangible, safe, and even beautiful way.
Try these anxiety-friendly art therapy prompts at home:
Draw Your Worry Monster: Have your teen draw their anxiety as a creature. Then ask: What does it say? When does it show up? What helps it calm down?
Safe Place Collage: Cut and paste images that represent a place of safety, real or imagined. This can become a grounding visual for anxious moments.
Mandala Making: Creating circular, patterned designs helps regulate the nervous system and reduce overwhelm.
When teens externalize their anxiety through art, they often gain distance, insight, and agency over it.
🖼️ For more ideas, check out The Art Therapy Project for inspiration and evidence-based creative practices.
4. Model Emotional Regulation
One of the most powerful tools you have is your own nervous system. Teens unconsciously look to their caregivers for cues about how to respond to stress.
Practice naming your own emotions aloud (“I’m feeling a little anxious today, too. I’m going to take some deep breaths.”)
Show healthy coping: journaling, taking a walk, using calming apps like Insight Timer or Headspace.
Avoid minimizing their experience (“It’s not that big of a deal”) and instead focus on co-regulation (“Let’s figure out what might help right now.”)
💡 Remember: You don’t have to be perfect—you just need to be present and regulated enough.
5. Empower, Don’t Enable
It’s natural to want to protect your teen from their anxiety triggers. But avoiding stressors entirely can reinforce the idea that your teen is not capable of handling discomfort.
Instead of rescuing, help them build tools:
Role-play social situations with them
Break tasks into manageable steps
Celebrate small wins, like staying in a social setting 5 minutes longer than usual
📘 If your teen struggles socially due to anxiety, my new book Social Skills for Teens with Anxiety provides step-by-step activities, scripts, and reflections to help them build confidence in relationships, handle awkward moments, and feel more at ease in everyday interactions.
6. Seek Professional Support
There is no shame in needing outside help. Therapy provides a nonjudgmental space for teens to unpack their fears and develop skills. If your teen resists talk therapy, consider creative arts therapy—which includes art, music, dance, drama, or writing as clinical tools.
Art therapy is especially effective for anxious teens because:
It reduces pressure to talk
It engages the body and mind
It allows emotional processing without re-traumatization
It taps into a teen’s natural creativity and imagination
📍 Looking for a therapist? You can search for credentialed art therapists at ArtTherapy.org or contact my practice, Davenport Creative Arts Therapy, if you're located in Westchester County, NY or open to virtual support.
7. Build Predictable Routines with Flexibility
Anxiety thrives on unpredictability. Teens feel safer when they know what to expect.
Maintain consistent routines for meals, sleep, and screen time
Use visual schedules or whiteboards to preview the day
Allow some flexibility so they don’t feel trapped
Even five minutes of daily “unwind time” can help teens reset. During this time, avoid screens and encourage relaxation with art, music, or sensory tools like putty or aromatherapy.
🌿 Try creating a “calm corner” at home with soft lighting, blankets, fidget tools, art supplies, and noise-canceling headphones.
8. Use Language That Builds Self-Compassion
Teens with anxiety often develop harsh inner critics. As caregivers, our words become their internal voice.
Instead of saying:
“Just calm down” → Try: “Let’s take one step at a time together.”
“Why are you so anxious?” → Try: “I know it feels overwhelming. I’m proud of you for showing up.”
“There’s nothing to worry about” → Try: “It feels really real right now, doesn’t it?”
Teach your teen to name the anxiety without becoming it:
“This is anxiety talking, not me. I’m allowed to feel scared and still move forward.”
📚 You can also introduce practices from DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), such as radical acceptance or opposite action—tools I often integrate into art therapy work to help teens challenge anxious thoughts.
9. Foster Safe Social Opportunities
Teens with anxiety often feel isolated—but meaningful connection can be one of the greatest buffers to anxiety. However, large groups, public speaking, or forced interactions can feel daunting.
Support your teen in:
Inviting one trusted friend over for a short hangouthome using activities
Joining interest-based clubs (art, coding, anime, music) over high-pressure sports or activities
Volunteering or working behind the scenes on projects
You can also explore low-stakes social skills practice at home using activities —perfect for building confidence before diving into bigger social settings.
10. Celebrate Strengths, Not Just Progress
While it’s important to support growth, don’t forget to celebrate who your teen already is. Teens with anxiety are often deeply sensitive, empathic, creative, and conscientious.
Highlight their gifts and strengths:
“You’re incredibly thoughtful—I noticed how you checked in on your friend today.”
“Your artwork really captures so much emotion. I can see how deeply you feel.”
“I’m impressed by how self-aware you are. That’s a strength, not a flaw.”
When teens feel seen for more than their anxiety, they develop the resilience to navigate it.
Final Thoughts
Supporting a teen with anxiety is not about “fixing” them—it’s about walking alongside them with compassion, patience, and hope. You don’t have to do it perfectly. Just showing up with presence and curiosity makes a world of difference.
As an art therapist, I’ve witnessed how powerful creative expression, safe relationships, and mindful attunement can be in transforming anxiety from something that paralyzes into something that teaches. With the right tools and support, your teen can thrive.
✨ To learn more practical ways to support your teen’s social and emotional well-being, check out my new book:
Social Skills for Teens with Anxiety by Emily Davenport – a creative, evidence-based workbook designed to build confidence, connection, and resilience in teens ages 13+.
You’re not alone on this journey—and neither is your teen.
