HealthQ’s Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer share know-how for parents navigating the decision to seek out mental healthcare for a child. Divorce rocked the lives of Marcela Cabay and her daughter, who was a preschooler at the time.
But counseling didn’t come until years later, when Cabay noticed her daughter was tensing up every time a storm rolled through or whenever they were preparing to be apart. “She was experiencing just a lot of anxiety, really starting to think worst-case scenarios all the time, just really struggling in her daily life,” said Cabay, who is a life insurance broker outside Austin, Texas.
This story is a collaboration between Nashville Public Radio and KFF Health News. It can be republished for free .
At first, Cabay attempted to help her daughter herself. She suggested coping strategies for the 8-year-old to regulate her emotions.
She hoped the behavior would pass. But, over time, the anxiety got worse.
KFF Health News published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 09 Jun 2026.
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