Davidson Child Anxiety Counseling, 706 Northeast Drive Ste 1, Davidson, NC (2026)

02/18/2026

Many people experience intrusive thoughts, and it doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. They may happen when a person is going through a lot of stress, or they may just happen randomly.
Just aving an intrusive thought every once in a while isn’t a sign of mental illness. They can be totally normal, like the brain version of a hiccup. A child with occasional intrusive thoughts can usually brush them off without taking them too seriously.
But children who are struggling with repeated, ongoing intrusive thoughts can’t brush them off so easily. In these cases, a child may be dealing with a mental health problem that needs attention. OCD and PTSD are two common mental health conditions that can cause children to have intrusive thoughts.

Kids with OCD deal with repeated thoughts, worries, or mental pictures that upset or scare them. Kids are bothered by these worries, and feel pushed to do something to make the worry go away or prevent something bad from happening. This creates a cycle of repeated worries and repeated behaviors, called obsessions and compulsions, that take up a lot of time and add even more stress.

Children who have survived extremely frightening or dangerous events may have lingering problems after the fact. While some kids will bounce back, others may be diagnosed with PTSD. Kids with PTSD will re-experience parts of their trauma in some way, often through intrusive thoughts or flashbacks. Flashbacks are vivid memories that pop up suddenly and intensely, almost as if a child is living through the event again.

02/16/2026

Heads up: we’re no longer Katie Lear, Child Counselor!

As a one-woman therapy practice, I’ve mostly just gone by my name. But now that the practice is growing, it feels like the right time to pick a name that better reflects who we are: a small, specialty practice committed to helping kids navigate anxiety and OCD, both here in Davidson and across NC, NY, and FL.

Our social handles have been updated to , and over the next few weeks, our website and logo will get a fresh look too.

Thanks for hanging out with us here in the virtual world, and for trusting us with your kids. 💛

02/16/2026

Ida Always doesn’t feel like an educational or therapy book—it’s just a good story. Like many of my favorite books for kids, this one teaches by showing, not by telling. Readers meet Ida and Gus, two polar bears at the Central Park Zoo (who really existed!) who are best friends. One day, Ida becomes very sick and can’t get better. Over the course of the book, Ida and Gus grieve and prepare for Ida’s death together.

This book offers a child-friendly explanation of death, as well as a good example of what to expect when someone has a terminal illness. Ida sleeps more often, has good and bad days, and sometimes needs a moment alone while she is sick. Gus goes through some very human feelings, too: disbelief, anger, humor, and acceptance are all a part of the story. Gus—and readers—learn that you can continue a friendship during and after terminal illness, and that you don’t need to see someone in order to stay connected to them.

02/13/2026

There is no set age at which intrusive thoughts start. However, they may be more common or noticeable in tweens and teens. Intrusive thoughts are sometimes a symptom of OCD, which can show up as early as age 7 or 8 and as late as the teens or early twenties.

In my child therapy office, it’s usually middle or high school kids who are able to put the weird experience of having unwanted thoughts into words. They are old enough to think about their own thinking and notice their thoughts as they pass by, so they know that something doesn’t feel right.

Although they may not talk about it as much, younger kids can be bothered by these thoughts, too. Because they don’t have the vocabulary to talk about what’s going on, you might see changes in their actions, instead. For example, they may ask for reassurance about the same subject again and again.

02/11/2026

Death is never easy to talk about, but it can be even harder to broach the subject when a loved one’s cause of death was difficult or sensitive. This heavily illustrated book is divided into panels, like a comic strip. The pictures are expressive, colorful, and full of small details for children to notice and study. The pictures alone can prompt a lot of discussion, but this child-friendly book also shares some hard truths about death.

It’s one of the books I find myself turning to again and again in my child therapy practice to help children make sense of more difficult grief experiences. When Dinosaurs Die offers brief, age-appropriate explanations of death caused by violence, racial prejudice, su***de, and substance abuse. It also helps children understand that while most people live to a very old age, it is sometimes possible for very young children and even babies to die. Note that these specifics may be too much information for families looking for a more general introduction to the subject of death. If your little one has experienced one of these causes of death, however, reading about them in print can be extremely reassuring. (I do advise that you flip through this book in advance to ensure that the content is right for your child’s needs. It’s okay to pick and choose sections to share!)

02/09/2026

Take a second and imagine an intruder. What do you think of? Someone who busts down the door, unannounced, without being invited. What a scary scenario! It’s safe to assume that most of us would be pretty freaked out to discover an intruder in our home. We’d probably dread having it happen again, and try everything we could to make sure our house was secure in the future.

Intrusive thoughts are very similar. We call them “ego dystonic,” therapy jargon that means a person doesn’t agree with the thoughts – it may not even feel like the thoughts really belong to them. Intrusive thoughts include imagery that is violent, sexual, or feels “wrong” to a child. Other times, worries about worst-case scenarios might come up again and again. They aren’t things that kids would choose to think about, and they’re often the opposite of what a child would do or hope for, just like an unwanted home intruder.

Kids with intrusive thoughts may feel distressed, anxious, or ashamed. They may not understand why the thoughts are happening, but can guess that not everyone is bothered by their thinking in this way. Because the thoughts feel out of control, children may dread having more and try to avoid them. But understanding what these thoughts actually are helps make them much less scary.

02/06/2026

Great news for families who've been looking for anxiety support: we now have immediate openings for new clients!

I’m very happy to introduce Heather Page, LCSW, who is joining the practice as our newest therapist.

Heather works with children and teens and specializes in anxiety disorders, grief, OCD, and helping kids build practical coping skills for everyday stress. She is new to private practice but brings years of experience as a school and hospice counselor.

I waited to hire a therapist until I found someone I felt I could wholeheartedly recommend to families, and Heather is totally that person! I'm excited to have her on the team.

If you’d like to learn more or see if it’s a good fit, you can book a free parent consult call here: https://calendly.com/hnmoore36/new-client-consultation-call

Heather can hold in-person sessions in our Davidson, NC office and online sessions throughout North Carolina (Florida coming soon). Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested!

01/25/2026

Caregivers need support navigating the grieving process, too. If you’re the parent of a young child who is grieving a loss, my book, A Parent’s Guide to Managing Childhood Grief, can help you move on to deeper conversations after reading some of the picture books I’ve recommended here.

The book combines guidance and grief education with hands-on activities you and your child can work on together. You’ll find ways to learn about grief and loss, express feelings, and strengthen your parent-child bond.

It’s available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, and at your local independent bookstore.

01/24/2026

Stories and picture books give children accurate, age-appropriate information about death, which can help reduce anxiety. Death is a big unknown for all of us, but especially for kids. Children who don’t have enough information about death may make assumptions on their own that lead to even more worry – such as wondering whether or not they did something to cause their loved one to die.

Reading a book also helps children talk and think about death without having to share their own personal experiences. It’s easier to talk about a fictional character and their grief than one’s own. Stories help elementary-aged children understand grief through another person’s perspective, and hopefully realize that the feelings they’re having are normal and healthy, too.

Time spent with a parent or loving adult is one of the most helpful experiences a grieving child can have. They will still need a lot of support from you to understand their grief. Sitting down to read a book together is a wonderful way to comfort your child and let them know it's okay to talk about grief.

01/18/2026

As I’ve talked about here, there’s a big difference between remission and cure. With good treatment, many kids with OCD will go for long stretches without problems. However, expecting your child to never have another OCD thought ever again for the rest of her life probably isn’t realistic. While some kids may fully outgrow their OCD, many won’t. Most experts consider OCD to be a chronic condition that, once you have it, sticks around for the long term.

That may be demoralizing to hear. The words “chronic illness” can sound very hopeless, especially if your child is struggling intensely right now. But just because OCD can be a lifetime diagnosis doesn’t mean it’s a life sentence. You may remember that OCD affects 1-3% of people. That’s a pretty solid number! There are lots of kids and adults out there who are thriving, enjoying life, and just so happen to have OCD.

01/17/2026

At first glance, the title and plot of this book might seem a little corny—at least it did to me! The story follows a leaf through the four seasons of the year, from growth in the spring to falling off the tree and dying in the fall. It’s accompanied by nature photography that shows the beauty of each season.

While the book is recommended for kids ages 4-8, I think the length and wordiness of the story might challenge the attention spans of some younger readers. The story also raises some big philosophical questions that might be better suited to older kids, like “What’s our purpose in life?” Finding meaning in life and death is an important part of grieving, and few children’s books talk about it. If your child is starting to ask deeper questions, this book is a gentle way to think about how life and death are both natural parts of life.

(One small word of caution: at the very end of the book, there’s one brief mention of death feeling like falling asleep. Younger children may take this literally and worry about falling asleep at night. I’d recommend changing the words when you get to that page!)

01/11/2026

Different experts have different opinions on whether or not it’s possible for OCD to completely go away. I don’t think I can argue with the experts! It’s not entirely clear whether people get cured of their OCD, or if they just go into remission from OCD. “Cured” means the symptoms are gone forever, while “remission” means the symptoms go away for a while, but may come back later.

Being the nerd that I am, I’ve looked over a handful of studies looking at the likelihood of OCD symptoms going away after therapy. It seems like it is possible for some people, and there are a few factors that increase a person’s odds. Kids whose symptoms start when they are young have better chances of entering remission than teens or adults. So do people whose symptoms are milder, and who are able to get therapy quickly. Finally, people who do not have other mental health problems alongside their OCD fare better than people who are also dealing with anxiety or other conditions.

Depending on the study you look at, you’ll see researchers estimating that anywhere from 32% to 70% of people go into remission after therapy, meaning that their symptoms are gone for a long time, or have gotten so mild that they aren’t getting in the way of things. However, this is different than being cured: there’s no guarantee that the symptoms might come back. The number of kids who are cured is much smaller and open to debate. Some experts guess that 20% of kids with childhood O

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