Treatment
Non-medication based
Non-medication based treatments are the first choice when treating individuals diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder. Counseling tends to be the best replacement for drug treatments. There are two different non-medication approaches to treat separation anxiety. The first is a psychoeducational intervention, often used in conjunction with other therapeutic treatments. This specifically involves educating the individual and their family so that they are knowledgeable about the disorder, as well as parent counseling and guiding teachers on how to help the child. The second is a psychotherapeutic intervention when prior attempts are not effective. Psychotherapeutic interventions are more structured and include behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, contingency, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and family therapy. Exposure and behavioral therapy
Behavioral therapies are types of non-medication based treatment which are mainly exposure-based techniques. These include techniques such as systematic desensitization, emotive imagery, participant modelling and contingency management. Behavioral therapies carefully expose individuals by small increments to slowly reduce their anxiety over time and mainly focuses on their behavior. Exposure based therapy works under the principle of habituation that is derived from learning theory. The core concept of exposure therapy is that anxiety about situations, people, and things does not go away when people avoid the things that they fear, but rather, the uncomfortable feelings are simply kept at bay. In order to effectively diminish the negative feelings associated with the situation of fear, one must address them directly. In order to administer this treatment, the therapist and the anxious child might sit together and identify progressively intense situations.
This is a serious problem because, as children fall further behind in coursework, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to return to school.Short-term problems resulting from academic refusal include poor academic performance or decline in performance, alienation from peers, and conflict within the family.Although school refusal behavior is common among children with SAD, it is important to note that school refusal behavior is sometimes linked to generalized anxiety disorder or possibly a mood disorder. That being said, a majority of children with separation anxiety disorder have school refusal as a symptom. Up to 80% of children who refuse school qualify for a diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder. Home setting
Symptoms for SAD might persist even in a familiar and/or comfortable setting for the child, like the home. The child might be afraid to be in a room alone even if they know that their parent is in the next room over. They might fear being alone in the room, or going to sleep in a dark room. Problems might present themselves during bedtime, as the child might refuse to go to sleep unless their parent is near and visible. During the day, the child might "shadow" the parent and cling to their side. Workplace
Just how SAD affects a childs attendance and participation in school, their avoidance behaviors stay with them as they grow and enter adulthood. Recently, "the effects of mental illness on workplace productivity have become a prominent concern on both the national and international fronts".