Panic disorder is one of the most debilitating disorders that exists! Children with this disorder experience unexpected and repeated periods of intense fear or dread.

Social phobia, often called social anxiety disorder, involves an intense fear of becoming humiliated or embarrassed in social situations.

Specific Phobia is a fear or anxiety over a specific object, place or situation.

Developmentally inappropriate and excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or from those to whom the individual is attached.

Trichotillomania is an impulse control disorder where children tend to pull out hair as a result of stress and anxiety.

Children with this disorder tend to 'worry' constantly and feel 'tense' and uneasy throughout most of the day.

Worries, doubts, superstitious beliefs all are common in everyday life. However, when they become so excessive such as hours of hand washing or make no sense at all such as driving around and around the block to check that an accident didn't occur then a diagnosis of OCD is made.

ADHD is the abbreviation for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A neurological disorder that is treatable in over 80% of individuals. A child or adult diagnosed with ADHD displays certain characteristics that have been evident over a period of time.

Childhood should be filled with laughter, playtime and fun, but when a child seems to have lost their zest for enjoyable activities and seems ‘down’ for weeks at a time, clinical depression must be considered.

The term ‘trauma’ has become a common word in the vocabulary of many South Africans. You have only to page through the daily newspaper to read about people’s experiences of trauma – be it an armed robbery, a mugging, car hi-jacking, burglary, rape, assault, motor vehicle accident or natural disaster.