Separation Anxiety Treatment - Camali Clinic

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About Service

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Separation Anxiety Disorder is characterised by excessive fear or anxiety about separation from key attachment figures (usually parents or caregivers) that is developmentally inappropriate and causes significant distress or impairment. While some separation anxiety is normal in very young children, when it persists beyond expected developmental stages or becomes severely disruptive, specialist support is needed.

Separation Anxiety Treatment

1. Symptoms may include

  • Excessive distress when separated from home or attachment figures – or when separation is anticipated
  • Persistent and excessive worry about losing attachment figures, or about harm coming to them
  • Refusal to go to school, sleep away from home, or be left without the attachment figure
  • Nightmares about separation; repeated physical complaints (headaches, stomach aches) on school mornings
  • Clingy behaviour, shadowing the parent around the house, or inability to stay in a room alone
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with graduated exposure – the child is gradually and systematically exposed to separation, building confidence and tolerance
  • Parent coaching – helping parents manage their own anxiety around separation and respond in ways that support independence
  • School collaboration – working with the school to create a graded return-to-school plan where school refusal is present

Our Team

We are here to guide you

Meet the specialists who bring compassion, knowledge, and experience to every aspect of care.

Dr Mahshid Bayat

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Akbar Shourestan

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Sreevidhya K. Srinivas

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Emmanuelle Massad

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Dr Fadi Maalouf

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Dr Girish Banwari

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Dr Kusay Moosa Hadi

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Specific FAQS

1.

Is separation anxiety normal?

Mild separation anxiety is developmentally normal up to around age 3–4. When it persists beyond this, intensifies, or causes school refusal or significant daily disruption, it warrants specialist assessment.