Therapy For PANDAS & PANS

FOR FAMILIES, CHILDREN AND TEENS IN WESTCHESTER AND ACROSS NY

PANDAS/PANS can make you feel like your family is falling apart.

Witnessing your child's personality change before your eyes takes a huge emotional toll on a family.

As a parent, you might feel overwhelmed, sad, and afraid of how to handle the behavior changes. Your child or teen might feel scared, angry and confused about what is happening to their mind and body.

You are not alone on this path.

What is PANDAS/PANS?

"PANDAS" stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. It's a term used to describe a set of clinical symptoms and behaviors that are linked to certain streptococcal infections.

PANDAS is considered a subset of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), which is a broader term used to describe similar neuropsychiatric symptoms that can be triggered by various infectious or immune-related factors, not just streptococcal infections.

PANDAS/PANS can present in many ways, including:

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms (OCD): Children with PANS might develop intense and irrational fears, obsessions, or compulsions that significantly interfere with their daily activities and cause distress.

  • Tic Disorders: Motor tics (involuntary muscle movements) and/or vocal tics (involuntary vocalizations) can appear suddenly and become prominent in PANS. These tics may be repetitive and difficult to control.

  • Anxiety and Emotional Symptoms: Increased levels of anxiety, fearfulness, panic attacks, and emotional lability are common in PANS. Children might experience mood swings, irritability, and sudden mood changes.

  • Behavioral Changes: Sudden and significant changes in behavior, such as increased aggression, oppositional behavior, emotional outbursts, and difficulty with impulse control, can be seen.

  • Cognitive Disturbances: Cognitive symptoms like problems with attention, concentration, memory, and executive functioning may arise suddenly. Children might struggle with tasks that were previously manageable.

  • Sleep Disturbances: Sleep disruptions, such as insomnia, night terrors, or restless sleep, can occur as part of PANS.

  • Sensory Sensitivities: Heightened sensitivities to sensory stimuli, like light, sound, touch, or taste, might emerge or worsen.

  • Physical Symptoms: Children with PANS may experience physical symptoms such as motor difficulties, weakness, headaches, joint pain, and other unexplained physical discomfort.

  • Regression: In some cases, children may experience regression in skills they had previously mastered, such as toileting, handwriting, or language abilities. There can also be behavioral regression where they child may act much younger than they are.

Getting the right support and help for parents and kids is essential. With the right medical treatment and emotional support, you can work through the challenges of PANDAS/PANS.

My Approach

PANDAS/PANS families often need multiple therapeutic approaches to help the family gain back a sense of control.

I understand this on a personal level, because I am also a PANDAS/PANS parent.

  • Research has shown that the burden for parents of children and teens with PANDAS/PANS is very high. Parent support is essential to reducing the emotional toll PANDAS/PANS has on the family. I provide support, tools and guidance to navigate this path create with resilience.

  • I am trained in ERP, which is considered the gold standard treatment for OCD. I tailor ERP to support the complexity of PANDAS/PANS. Click here to read about how I help OCD with ERP.

  • Collaborative and Proactive Problem Solving is an evidence-based approach created by Dr. Ross Greene to navigate challenging behavior. Since many PANDAS/PANS families deal with push-back or anger as part of the illness, this approach helps families create realistic expectations, provide support for lagging skills, and problem-solve to create effective outcomes in a collaborative format.

  • SPACE is an evidence-based therapy approach for parents of kids and teens that have anxiety and/or OCD. SPACE can be particularly helpful for PANDAS/PANS families because the child or teen does not have to participate in the therapy, it is has been proven to effective by working with parents only. You can read about SPACE here.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is recommended part of treatment for PANDAS/PANS. In a validating, supportive environment, kids, teens and parents learn how PANDAS/PANS changes how they think and feel, and then also experience the healing power of changing thoughts, actions and behaviors to improve emotional symptoms.

  • DBT is an evidence-based therapy approach that helps kids/teens and parents affected by PANDAS/PANS to learn Mindfulness, Emotional Regulation, Stress Management and Effective Communication.

  • EMDR is an evidence-based therapy approach that can lower anxiety and reduce the impact of traumatic events. EMDR can be effective for PANDAS/PANS parents, and for PANDAS/PANS kids and teens that are further along in their healing.

Are you looking for help for PANDAS/PANS but you are outside of New York State?

I provide coaching for families outside of New York State. Email me at hello@parentingwithpans.com to get more information about how I can help you and your family.

You can get the right support and guidance for your PANDAS/PANS family.