Parent Coaching for Your Anxious Child, in Austin and Across Texas

Little Dove Psychology offers parent coaching for parents of anxious children and teens: structured 60-minute video sessions with you, sometimes without your child in the room, focused on what to say and do when anxiety shows up at home. Coaching is available to parents in Austin and anywhere in Texas and the other PSYPACT participating states, your child does not have to be a client, and most parents start within the same week. The practice has clinicians in network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and Optum/UnitedHealthcare (including Oscar plans administered by Optum).

What is parent coaching for childhood anxiety?

Parent coaching is treatment delivered through you. You meet with a clinician, usually without your child, and learn what feeds anxiety, what starves it, and what to do in the moments that keep going sideways at your house. It is structured and goal-based, often four to eight sessions with clear goals, and your child does not have to be a client.

This is not about blaming parents. The instincts that make you a good parent (protect, comfort, fix) are exactly the ones anxiety knows how to use. The research here is encouraging: in a randomized trial of childhood anxiety, coaching only the parents worked as well as treating the anxious child directly.

What is accommodation, and why does reducing it help an anxious child?

Accommodation is anything a parent does to help a child avoid or escape anxiety. Answering the same worried question every night, lying down with them until they fall asleep, ordering for them at restaurants, driving to school so they can skip the bus. Every loving family does some of this.

The catch is that accommodation brings relief tonight and a slightly bigger fear tomorrow, because the child never gets to find out they could have handled it. Coaching helps you pull back gradually, one accommodation at a time, announced ahead of time, and paired with a supportive message that combines two things: I understand this is hard, and I know you can do it.

What should I say to my anxious child at bedtime?

A few patterns that help:

• Move the worry talk earlier. A short "worry time" after dinner gives worries a place to go that is not lights-out.
• Keep the routine short and the same. Predictable beats elaborate.
• Validate once, then stop reassuring. "You're worried about tomorrow. That makes sense, worries get loud at night. We already talked about it, and I know you can get through this feeling."
• Step out gradually. If you are still lying down with your child, the plan might move from the bed to a chair, then to the doorway, then to brief check-ins, over a few weeks.

A couple of breathing exercises practiced during calm moments give your child something to do with the feeling besides call for you.

What should I say at school drop-off?

Keep goodbyes short, warm, and identical every day. Lingering and negotiating in the car line tell a child's brain that the situation is dangerous; sneaking away breaks trust. Say goodbye, name when you will be back ("I'll see you at 3:15 at the flagpole"), hand off to a teacher if that helps, and go. Afterward, praise the courage, not the absence of tears. If mornings have turned into a daily standoff and your child is missing school, that is a pattern called school refusal, and it needs a faster, more coordinated plan.

For the words themselves, 7 things to stop saying to your anxious kid covers the swaps I suggest most often.

How does parent coaching fit with my child's own therapy?

They work best together. In anxiety therapy, your child learns what anxiety is, practices skills for the physical wave of it, and climbs an exposure ladder one step at a time. Parent sessions make sure home supports that ladder instead of quietly undoing it.

A parent-only approach fits especially well when:

• Your child refuses therapy, which is common, since anxiety fights against anything new
• Your child is young, and most of the change will come through the adults at home anyway
• You want to start with your own responses before bringing your child in

Sometimes the most useful thing is looking at your own stress too. I wrote about why in parent stress and the anxious teen.

Is there something I can read before our first session?

Yes. In February 2026 I gave a talk called "Helping Your Child With Anxiety" for the Eanes Elementary PTO here in Austin, and the written version is Managing Your Child's Anxiety: A Parent's Guide. Other talks are listed on our talks and media page.

How it works at Little Dove

1. A free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Kroll. Dr. Kristin Kroll, PhD, the founder, speaks with every family herself. She will help you decide whether parent coaching, therapy for your child, or both makes sense. Then she matches you with the clinician who fits.
2. A benefits check. Read us the plan name on your card and we verify your benefits and give you the expected cost before anything is scheduled. Our clinicians are in network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and Optum/UnitedHealthcare (including Oscar plans administered by Optum), and we match you with a clinician your plan covers. We do not accept Medicaid or CHIP. Self-pay is $225 a session with a licensed psychologist or $150 with a licensed psychological associate, with superbills and HSA/FSA accepted. See Fees & Insurance.
3. A start within days. Five days on average from first contact to first appointment; most families start the same week.
4. 60-minute virtual sessions. Secure video with evening and weekend times, for parents located anywhere in Texas or the other PSYPACT participating states during the session.
5. Measures every four weeks. Brief validated questionnaires at intake and every four weeks after, reviewed with you. How we measure progress.

Frequently asked questions about parent coaching for anxiety

What is parent coaching for an anxious child?

Parent coaching is a structured set of sessions with a parent, often without the child, focused on how anxiety works in a family and what to say and do at home. The core skill is reducing accommodation, the everyday ways families help a child avoid anxiety.

Does my child have to be in therapy for me to get parent coaching?

No. At Little Dove Psychology your child does not have to be a client for you to get parent coaching.

How many parent coaching sessions will we need?

Parent coaching is often four to eight 60-minute sessions with clear goals. Progress is reviewed with you every four weeks.

My child refuses therapy. Can parent coaching still help?

Yes. Refusing therapy is common for anxious kids, because anxiety resists anything new. Changing how the adults at home respond changes the pattern even before a child joins, and a randomized trial of childhood anxiety found that coaching only the parents worked as well as treating the child directly.

Should I stop reassuring my anxious child?

Gradually, not all at once. Repeated reassurance works like accommodation: it calms the moment and grows the worry. A coach helps you validate the feeling once, express confidence, and step back.

Is parent coaching covered by insurance?

When parent sessions are part of a child's anxiety treatment, they are billed to your plan like the rest of that care. Our clinicians are in network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and Optum/UnitedHealthcare (including Oscar plans administered by Optum), and we confirm how your plan handles parent sessions during the benefits check. We do not accept Medicaid or CHIP.

Can both parents attend parent coaching?

Yes, and it helps when both parents respond to anxiety the same way. Each parent can join by video from wherever they are, including separate households.

Is parent coaching available outside Austin?

Yes. Little Dove Psychology is a virtual practice based in Austin, and parent coaching is available by secure video anywhere in Texas and the other PSYPACT participating states, with evening and weekend times.

Dr. Kristin Kroll, PhD is a licensed psychologist and the founder of Little Dove Psychology, a virtual group practice based in Austin, Texas (Little Dove Consulting PLLC). Her clinical background includes pediatric hospital settings at Children's Wisconsin and an academic appointment at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and she is the author of Pediatric Psychology in Clinical Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2020). Patterns described on this page are general clinical patterns, not specific cases. This page is general information, not advice about your child. In a crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.