Coaching practices for The Clark Panic Model as a Parent

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Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

  • When it hits, it’s just one wall of terror
  • Now I’m scared of the feelings themselves
  • I’ve built up all these little rituals to get through it
  • Once the fear starts I’m locked onto my own body
  • I’m so sure that if I let the panic come without bolting I’ll faint or collapse in front of everyone, that I just never let myself find out

Practices that may help

  1. The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
    David Clark's cognitive model proposes that panic attacks are driven by catastrophic misinterpretation of benign bodily sensations — a racing heart is read as a heart attack, dizziness as fainting. This interpretation triggers more anxiety, which amplifies the sensation, completing a rapid escalating loop. CBT based on this model — identifying and correcting the misinterpretation — is among the most effective treatments for panic disorder, with a very large and consistent RCT evidence base.
  2. Identify the catastrophic misinterpretation
    Name exactly which bodily sensation you are having and exactly what you fear it means.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  3. Interoceptive exposure: deliberately induce the feared sensations
    Reproduce the physical sensations of panic in a safe, controlled way to break the sensation-fear link.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  4. Identify and reduce safety behaviors
    Notice the things you do to prevent catastrophe during panic — and experiment with dropping them.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  5. External focus: redirect attention away from bodily sensations
    Shift attention outward during anxiety to disrupt the monitoring loop that amplifies sensations.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  6. Run a behavioral experiment to test the catastrophic prediction
    Treat the catastrophic belief as a testable hypothesis and design a real-world test.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  7. Generate alternative, benign explanations for the sensation
    List all other things that could plausibly cause the sensation you're experiencing.
    The Clark Panic Model, Made Practical
  8. Manage your own emotional state before responding
    A regulated parent is the single most powerful behavior management tool available.
    Triple P Parenting (Matthew Sanders)
  9. Plan behavior management strategies in advance
    Decide how you will respond to predictable problems before they happen.
    Triple P Parenting (Matthew Sanders)
  10. Co-regulate by naming your own zone first
    A parent who models zone awareness is a more effective co-regulator than one who only monitors the child.
    Zones of Regulation (Leah Kuypers)

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