Understanding SPACE: How Parents Can Support Children Experiencing Anxiety
SPACE Parent Workshop at Lilac Therapy Center
When anxiety takes up more space in family life, parents can sometimes feel unsure about what to do next.
Lilac Therapy Center is offering a 6-week virtual SPACE Parent Workshop beginning October 8. Based on Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), the workshop helps parents understand how anxiety can affect family life and learn practical ways to respond that support both connection and confidence.
SPACE Parent Workshop
Thursdays • 12–1 PM
Starting October 8 • Virtual
$105 per workshop | $600 for the 6-week series
Six-week participation is encouraged.
Co-facilitated by Adrienne Pollicher, LCSW & Yoon Kim, LCSW
Learn more about the workshop →
What Is SPACE?
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions.
Rather than focusing solely on helping a child feel less anxious, SPACE focuses on helping parents change the ways they respond to anxiety.
That doesn't mean ignoring a child's fears or telling them to simply “get over it.” Instead, parents learn how to respond with empathy and support while gradually reducing behaviors that may be allowing anxiety to take the lead.
The goal is not to eliminate anxiety. It's to help children develop the confidence and skills to face difficult feelings and situations.
What Is Parental Accommodation?
When a child experiences anxiety, parents often make adjustments to help them cope.
These adjustments are sometimes called accommodations. They can include changing family routines, avoiding situations, answering for a child, providing repeated reassurance, or doing things for a child that anxiety makes difficult.
Again, these responses are understandable. In the moment, they may reduce a child's distress.
The challenge is that when anxiety consistently determines what a child can avoid, what a parent does for them, or how the family organizes its life, the child may have fewer opportunities to discover:
“I can handle this.”
What Can Accommodation Look Like in Real Life?
Avoiding situations that trigger anxiety
A child is afraid of dogs, so the family changes their walking route or avoids places where dogs might be present.
The change may make the child feel more comfortable in the short term, but it can also reinforce the idea that being around dogs is something they cannot handle.
Speaking or acting for their child
A child is anxious about ordering food at a restaurant, so the parent orders for them.
Again, this can make the uncomfortable moment go away. But it also means the child doesn't get the opportunity to practice speaking for themselves and discover that they can manage the interaction.
Allowing avoidance of school or activities
A child becomes anxious about going to school, so a parent lets them stay home or frequently picks them up early.
While staying home may temporarily reduce anxiety, repeated avoidance can make returning to school feel even more difficult and can reinforce the belief that school is something the child cannot manage.
These examples don't mean parents are doing something wrong. They are examples of how easily anxiety can begin to shape family life.
Support Doesn't Mean Removing Every Difficult Feeling
One of the most important shifts in SPACE is learning that supporting an anxious child doesn't necessarily mean making the anxiety go away.
Instead, parents can learn to communicate:
“I understand that this feels hard.”
and also:
“I believe you can handle it.”
That combination of empathy and confidence can help children feel supported without sending the message that they need to be protected from every uncomfortable experience.
The goal isn't to suddenly remove all accommodations or push a child into situations that feel overwhelming.
It's about making thoughtful, gradual changes that give children more opportunities to build confidence and independence.
Why Parent Involvement Matters
Anxiety doesn't affect only the person experiencing it. It can affect the entire family.
Parents may find themselves constantly reassuring, changing plans, managing difficult situations, or trying to anticipate what might make their child anxious.
Over time, these patterns can become part of everyday family life.
SPACE gives parents tools for recognizing these patterns and making meaningful changes while maintaining connection with their child.
Rather than asking only:
“How do we make my child's anxiety go away?”
the focus becomes:
“How can I respond to my child's anxiety in a way that helps them become more confident in handling it?”
Building Confidence, Not Just Reducing Anxiety
Children don't need to feel confident before they face something difficult.
Often, confidence develops because they face something difficult and discover they can handle it.
With the right support, children can begin to develop greater tolerance for uncomfortable feelings, more independence, and a stronger belief in their own ability to navigate challenging situations.
That's at the heart of the SPACE approach.
Support the child.
Change the pattern.
Strengthen the connection.
Build confidence.