If you’ve ever felt like anxiety is the uninvited cousin who showed up to your family dinner and refused to leave, this episode is for you. We often view a child’s anxiety as a problem they are carrying individually, but the clinical truth is that healing happens from the Inside-Out. To change the child’s experience, we often have to change the family environment.

Today, Dr. Courtney is joined by Dr. Eleanore Hall, a clinical child psychologist and specialist in pediatric anxiety and OCD. Together, they dive into the "Anatomy of Anxiety" and explore why our parental instinct to protect our children from distress—known clinically as Parental Accommodation—can unintentionally keep the anxiety cycle alive.

From the "Dirty Fishbowl" metaphor to the "Vending Machine" effect of behavioral outbursts, this conversation provides a compassionate, science-backed roadmap for parents who want to move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling attuned.

In this episode, we discuss:

1. The Anxiety Spectrum: Why anxiety is a "backseat driver" that everyone experiences, and how to know when it’s starting to rob your child of their joy.
2. The Fishbowl Metaphor: Why we can’t just "clean the fish" (the child) if the "water" (the environment) stays dirty.
3. Reassurance vs. Information: Identifying the "leaky bucket" of reassurance seeking and how to stop feeding the anxiety drug.
4. The Bike Seat Metaphor: Learning when to hold on and when to take the brave risk of letting go so your child can learn they are resilient.
5. The "Vending Machine" Effect: Why behaviors often get worse (the "extinction burst") before they get better, and how to ride the wave.
6. Supportive Statements: How to validate your child's fear while simultaneously instilling 100% confidence that they can get through it.

About Our Guest: Dr. Eleanore Hall is a clinical child psychologist specializing in pediatric anxiety, OCD, and challenging behaviors. Her training ranges from acute care settings at McLean Hospital to parent-focused work via the SPACE program (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). She is passionate about working with the whole family system to get kids back to the important work of being kids.

Resources & Connect with Us:

1. Pediatric OCD and Anxiety: The International OCD Foundation has several helpful resources on their website.
2. SPACE Program: 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.
3. Dr. Eleanore Hall's practice: You can find Dr. Eleanore at