Your Question
I have an 11 year old boy who is complaining of tummy pain and feeling unwell for a while now….few months. I brought him to the GP who thinks it might be anxiety. When I talk to my boy about anything annoying or worrying him he says there isn’t. The doctor recommended trying the ISPCC as they offer online support for children with anxiety….at least that’s what I think he said…..can you point me in the right direction please.
Answer
Hi there,
Many thanks for getting in touch. You have said your GP thinks your son’s tummy pains may be linked to anxiety and your GP mentioned support from ISPCC around anxiety. We are delighted that your GP has mentioned this support to you and you have come to the right place. Anxious feelings can be very hard to understand, both for children and their parents or carers, they can also be hard to identify so seeking support in this area is always a positive step.
At the ISPCC, we have three online programmes on offer:
Space From Anxiety: aimed at 15–18-year-old young people who experience mild to moderate anxiety.
Supporting An Anxious Child: aimed at parents/carers of 5–11-year-old children who experience mild to moderate anxiety.
Supporting An Anxious Teen: aimed at parents/carers of 12–18-year-old young people who experience mild to moderate anxiety.
As you mentioned your child is 11 years old, we would recommend engaging in our Supporting An Anxious Child programme. It is an online programme to support parents/carers who have a child who are anxious. It requires weekly online engagement and is flexible for you to engage with at what ever time of the day or week suits you best. You can find more information on it here (www.ispcc.ie/guided-digital-programmes/ ) and request the referral form or send any follow up questions to: [email protected].
We do also have our Childline Therapeutic Support Service that is available in some regions in Ireland, you can find more information about this service here www.ispcc.ie/child-and-family-support-services/
You may wish to speak about this more over the phone, if so, you can contact ISPCC’s Support Line on 01 522 4300 (the line is open from Monday to Friday 9am – 1pm) or you can also contact by sending an email to [email protected] .
Thanks again for getting in touch. We hope you have found this helpful.
Take care,
Robyn
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