As Barlow & Beck's statement (in Weems & Carrion, 2003) explains that anxiety in children generally occur because of the role of learning, thinking, and physiological aspects of anxiety disorders.
Sometimes we parents are too imposing our children to adapt to new environmental knew, without we realize we have added a negative experience that ultimately led to ongoing problems. Besides need to know the main cause, you also need to immediately do something before the next problem appears. One of the things you can do to achieve these two objectives is to ask him to play.
Axline (1947) says that the play is a natural medium for children's self expression. The game you do with this child can become a therapy, called play therapy (Schaefer, 2003). This paper introduced a kind of therapy that can be done to cope with anxiety disorders, ie, play therapy, particularly cognitive behavioral approach.
The steps that can be done in stages play therapy with this approach include:
1. Building a sense of security.
When children experience anxiety because they have to relate to the new world, this child needs is a sense of security, then create a sense of security in children's self with the school waited for some time.
2. Changing thinking is wrong.
Children who experience separation anxiety usually have developed the false notion that his new world, for example with regard mischievous new friends, teachers fierce, hard lessons, or other negative things. Thinking this kid needs to be changed by facts showing the opposite way.
3. Encourage children to play together.
Games are used depending on the choice of the child. Make sure that the child becomes the main actor in the game and give the opportunity to play many roles. Through its role as the main actor, the child has freely express what is being experienced. Take advantage of this child's expression to explore what is actually a major cause of anxiety of children.
From here, you can change the false idea of children indirectly through conversations with key actors. In order to support the effectiveness of this therapy, do this therapy at school with classmates, so that positive feelings toward school may be formed.
