School anxiety and attendance difficulties can be shaped by what is happening around a child, without this meaning that home life is “the cause”. For some children and teenagers, family stress, changes in routine, separation, illness, bereavement, strained relationships, parental conflict, or a sibling with high levels of need may form part of the wider picture.

Children often carry family stress in ways that are not immediately obvious. They may become anxious, angry, withdrawn, controlling, clingy, physically symptomatic, or unable to tolerate separation from home. School may then become the place where the difficulty shows itself most clearly.

I work with families to think about these factors without blame. The question is not “whose fault is this?” but “what is the child carrying, and what support is needed around them?”

This may include parent consultation, child psychotherapy, parent-child work, or liaison with school or healthcare professionals where helpful. Sometimes the most important work is helping parents understand the emotional meaning of a child’s behaviour, while also thinking practically about routine, boundaries, communication and the wider family system.

My approach is biopsychosocial, which means I consider the child’s emotional life, development, family relationships, school context, physical health, neurodivergence and professional network together.

If your child’s school difficulty seems connected to stress at home, changes in the family, conflict, separation, illness or a sibling’s needs, a parent consultation can help us think carefully about what may be contributing to the wider picture.