Free Resource: Fear Ladder for Kids

Anxiety is normal part of life. At times the anxiety surrounds a task, such as speaking in front of a group or a thing, like spiders (ahh!). When the anxiety is local or specific, we can address it with a common CBT tool called a Fear Ladder or Exposure Hierarchy. In the Fall, many kids and youth have anxiety specific to returning to school. Below is an example for elementary aged children. Each small step exposes the student a little bit more to their fear, the child tolerates their fear, finds success, and is prepared for the next step. After several steps, they have hopefully developed enough belief in themselves to operate at the highest step and no longer need the fear ladder.

What if my child or youth stalls out on one of the steps? That is to be expected. Take a look at the bottom “Foundation” of the fear leader. Caregivers “attune” to their children/youth by seeing their feelings and demonstrating the get those feelings by reflecting those feelings back to the young person through words, tone, affect, gestures, and other forms of communication. You won’t see this Foundation block on most fear ladders but it’s essential if it’s going to be used in a family setting, otherwise the young person can experience the ladder as coercive and harsh. So when you’re young person can’t do a step, go back to the foundation, understand, stay with them there for a day, and then come back and try to find an even smaller step. Keep forward momentum while maintaining a strong emotional connection to your young person.

QUICK TIP: Make quick exposure hierarchy by using the “smart art” feature for Microsoft Office.