A New Approach, PLLC

12/09/2025

🌟 Test Anxiety Isn’t a Study Problem — It’s a Brain Problem. Here’s Why. 🌟

Ever blank on a test even though you definitely studied?
That isn’t failure — that’s a brain glitch.

When your nervous system senses pressure (yes, even from a vocab quiz), your amygdala hits the alarm button. Suddenly your brain is prioritizing survival mode instead of recall mode.
It’s trying to save you from a tiger that… doesn’t exist. 🐅✏️

And here’s the twist most people don’t talk about:

Your working memory — the “backpack” your brain uses to hold information — gets stuffed full of things like:
• “What if I fail?”
• “My mind always goes blank.”
• “Everyone will think I’m not smart.”

By the time the test begins, there’s barely any space left for the things you actually learned.

Test anxiety isn’t about ability. It’s about bandwidth.
Clear the emotional clutter → your knowledge finally has room to show up.

With the right tools, students can teach their brains to shift out of panic mode and into performance mode. And that’s the part we help with. We will list just a few of the strategies we help children learn and use in the comments.

💜 If your child struggles with test anxiety, support is available.
A New Approach Counseling | Canton, MA

11/12/2025

Want to more effectively support your child through their anxiety? Seek out Val in our office as she has specialized training in SPACE.

SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) is an evidence-based approach developed at the Yale Child Study Center. SPACE focuses on helping parents support their child in managing anxiety and related challenges by making thoughtful changes in their own responses, rather than placing all the pressure on the child. In Val's work, she guides parents to gently recognize and reduce patterns that may unintentionally accommodate anxiety, while fostering warmth, confidence, and calm within the family. This compassionate, empowering approach strengthens the parent–child relationship and helps children grow braver, more independent, and more at ease in the world around them.

We will soon be offering SPACE workshops for parents! Keep an eye out for more info.

SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions and is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems.

08/31/2025

We have a few spots left in our fall tween and teen DBT skills groups. Sign up soon to learn in the moment coping skills, interpersonal skills and how to be more present and focused. In person in Canton.

08/17/2025

⏳ Our upcoming tween and teen DBT skills groups are starting in September! Reach out to us for more info or to sign up someone looking to improve emotional resilience, skill use and interpersonal effectiveness.

05/15/2025

Empowering growth and healing—our dedicated therapists are attending a leading trauma conference this week, deepening their expertise to better support our clients. Always learning, always growing!

05/14/2025

What one of our therapists is reading right now:

Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD by Eli R. Lebowitz, PhD. This book introduces the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) program, which empowers parents to reduce their child’s anxiety by changing their own behaviors rather than directly targeting the child. The book provides practical, research-backed strategies for parents to reduce accommodating behaviors that may inadvertently reinforce symptoms of anxiety and OCD. Through real-life examples and step-by-step guidance, it equips families to foster independence and emotional resilience in their children.

04/22/2025

Medical trauma or fear (dental, needles) clinic May 21st. Reach out to us for more information or to schedule one of the open times. Appropriate for children and adults. Several major insurances accepted.
anewapproach-counseling.com

04/11/2025

Beautiful and truthful words...

03/26/2025

Coming soon (May)! ⏱ Medical trauma/phobia clinic. ✨

Accelerated resolution therapy with fast results. Open to children and adults. More details to be released.

A New Approach, PLLC uses ART to help clients in Canton, MA resolve distressing memories, reduce symptoms of trauma, and achieve emotional well-being.

03/12/2025

ADD getting in the way? Try the Pomodoro Technique to increase productivity and time focused on tasks.

02/26/2025

A wonderful resource in the community starting next week...

02/24/2025

Doomscrollling leading to headline stress? Anxious when you feel the buzz from a phone notification? From social media to news reports, frequent intake of negative content has both a physical and psychological impact. Increased headaches, substance use, low mood, anxiety, isolation, body discomfort...