Episode
Episode 68 | Teenage Anxiety: Supporting Caregivers in Navigating Growing Pains versus Clinical Anxiety with Sophia Vale Galano, LCSW
- Podcast
- The Affirming Minds Podcast
- Published
- Feb 24, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3326
- Processing state
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Summary
Course Information: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHCJ9CKZKI/Ad1sHDONsRUAfzKnZndnYw/view?utm_content=DAHCJ9CKZKI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h08e753f0a7 --- Episode Summary: Are today’s teens truly more anxious — or are we simply seeing anxiety more clearly? In this episode, we unpack the narrative of “the anxious generation” and explore what current research actually shows about adolescent anxiety. We discuss adolescent brain development and expected shifts in mood, sleep, and emotional intensity, and how to distinguish developmentally expectable distress from clinically impairing anxiety. We also explore how contextual factors — COVID-19 disruption, social media and parasocial relationships, and expanded access to telehealth — shape our understanding of youth anxiety reporting without assuming pathology. Finally, we delve into a critical relational factor: how caregiver anxiety and over-accommodation can unintentionally reinforce avoidance — and what differentiation looks like in practice when supporting teens. Joining me is Sophia Vale Guarino, LCSW, author of Calming Teenage Anxiety — a practical guide for caregivers who want to support teens with clarity and steadiness. Get her book here: https://a.co/d/005IWBFj --- About Our Guest: Sophia was born in Los Angeles, raised in London, and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from New York University. She has been providing therapy since 2015 and has over a decade of experience working with adults and adolescents. Sophia has treated individuals and families in her private practice while also providing therapy in medical, educational, residential and outpatient settings. She is an expert at treating teenage anxiety, an…