The Matthews Family

The Mathews family came to Children’s Harbor on their own as a ”self-referral” and when the mom initially called for help, she explained that her daughter was a junior pro tennis player that was struggling with anxiety.  Her grades were declining, and there was huge breakdown in communication within the family. 

During services, the mother would continuously remind the counselor and the client how important tennis was and how important it was for her daughter to bring up her grades so she could get into a good college.  The pressure to be perfect, the pressure to go pro,  the pressure to get into a great college were all triggers to the child’s anxiety. 

Looking back…During intake, the mother expressed deep rooted concern that Children’s Harbor wouldn’t be able to provide services based on their rigorous schedules. Rigorous was an accurate representation.  In order for services to “fit into” the family schedule, our family support counselor had to schedule 7:30 AM sessions.   
 
Using the NPP curriculum, our counselor focused on alleviating the child's anxiety as well as strengthening communication between mom and daughter.  During services the client was able to learn the appropriate way to express and control her feelings. The client’s mother was able to learn the difference between “pushing her daughter to be successful” and “providing guidance to her daughter”. The counselor was also able to help the mother understand that the client needed time to herself and with friends and then develop a schedule that incorporated "free time". The client no longer labeled her mother as the helicopter parent, and started to see her mother as a support.