Choice Point Coaching
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Coaching for teens and families navigating anxiety and school refusal.
Whole-system support for the child, parents, and school, when daily life isn’t working, even with therapy in place.
If your child is struggling with anxiety, avoidance, or school refusal, it can be incredibly hard to know what’s actually going on, or what really helps.
Many families get pulled into an anxiety and avoidance cycle without realizing it. And the more that cycle grows, the more stuck everyone feels.
In this workshop, I’ll walk parents through:
• why kids get stuck in anxiety
• how avoidance takes hold
• what actually helps kids start moving forward again
If your child is:
refusing school
shutting down when things feel hard
avoiding things they used to do
or it feels like everything turns into a negotiation…
…and nothing you’re trying is actually creating change…
This is often what’s missing.
What looks like a lack of motivation is usually anxiety.
And underneath that anxiety is a very specific fear:
👉 your child’s brain is predicting that something bad is going to happen, and trying to get them out of it.
So instead of asking: “Why won’t you just do it?”
A more helpful place to start is:
👉 “What does your brain think is going to happen right now?”
That’s where things begin to shift.
This is the first step in the process I use with families to help kids actually move forward, not just talk about it.
I’m walking through how to apply this (and what to do next) in a small, in-person parent workshop next week in North Andover.
👉 Details are in the comments
03/17/2026
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share a quick update.
Both my personal Facebook account and this page were compromised today and have been "permanently deactivated". I’m working through next steps, but I may have access to this platform moving forward. No, this is not ideal.
There’s also a chance I could temporarily or permanently lose access to Instagram as this gets sorted out. It does sound like there is a potential that I could rebuild new accounts eventually.
If you’ve been following along, reached out, or were planning to attend the upcoming workshop, everything is still moving forward as planned.
More importantly, I’d love to stay connected outside of social media.
I created a simple form below where you can stay in touch, get updates, and hear about upcoming workshops and support:
👉 https://forms.gle/VxFSHN1fQhpKLN5n6
I’ll continue sharing resources for families navigating anxiety and school avoidance- just in a different space (TBD).
Thank you for being here and for your support- it truly means a lot. Please comment, share, and like so that this reaches as many people as possible before this page is deactivated! I am preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best!
– Sheree
Choice Point Coaching
Choice Point Parent Community Hi, I’m so glad you’re here. Due to a recent security issue, I may be temporarily off social media. I didn’t want to lose connection with the families and community here, so this is the best way to stay in touch. I share practical support for parents navigating anxiety, avoidance, and school c...
03/12/2026
When anxiety shows up around school, mornings often become the hardest part of the day.
What starts as a little hesitation can slowly turn into a daily cycle:
• trouble getting out of bed
• stomachaches or headaches before school
• long negotiations about leaving the house
• a child who once liked school suddenly resisting it
Parents often feel stuck between two options:
Push harder and risk escalating the conflict
or
Back off and worry that avoidance is growing.
Neither option feels right.
What’s often happening underneath is that anxiety is starting to shape the child’s behavior, even if they can’t fully explain what they’re feeling.
The goal isn’t to force a child through anxiety or eliminate anxiety entirely.
The goal is to help them build the capacity to move forward even when anxiety shows up.
That process usually happens gradually, with small steps that rebuild confidence and help kids learn that they can handle discomfort.
Many families navigate this stage before they fully understand what’s happening.
Once the pattern becomes clearer, it’s much easier to begin helping a child move forward again.
On March 26, I’m hosting a small parent workshop in North Andover called:
When Anxiety Isn’t Improving: Why Kids Stay Stuck
We’ll talk through:
• why anxiety sometimes grows even when everyone is trying hard
• how avoidance patterns develop
• what actually helps kids rebuild confidence and momentum
We’re keeping the group intentionally small so the conversation can be practical and interactive.
If this sounds familiar for your family, you’re very welcome to join us.
When Anxiety Isn’t Improving: Why Kids Stay Stuck A live workshop for North Andover parents of bright, capable kids who feel stuck in anxiety and ready to rebuild motivation and independence
03/11/2026
Your teen isn’t lazy.
They’re stuck.
One of the hardest things for parents is when a child who is bright, capable, and thoughtful slowly starts struggling more and more with anxiety.
School becomes harder.
Motivation drops.
The daily negotiations start to take over family life.
Parents often find themselves wondering:
Why won’t they try?
Are we pushing too hard?
Are we not pushing enough?
What we often see clinically is that kids get caught in an avoidance cycle. Avoiding something reduces anxiety in the moment, but it also teaches the brain that the situation was dangerous — which makes the anxiety stronger the next time.
Over time, this can quietly shrink a child’s world.
On March 25, I’m hosting a small parent workshop in North Andover called:
When Anxiety Isn’t Improving: Why Kids Stay Stuck
In this workshop we’ll talk about:
• why anxiety treatment sometimes stalls
• how avoidance quietly grows stronger
• what Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) actually looks like in daily life
What parents will walk away with:
• a clear understanding of the avoidance cycle
• a framework for helping kids rebuild confidence and momentum
• practical ways to support exposure work at home without escalating conflict
This is not a lecture — it’s a small conversation for parents where we’ll talk through real situations families are navigating.
We’re keeping the group intentionally small so the discussion can be practical and interactive.
If this is something your family is navigating, you’re very welcome to join us.
Teens aren’t lazy.
And they aren’t broken.
When school refusal, shutdown, perfectionism, or avoidance take over, it’s rarely a motivation issue.
It’s a structure issue.
Next week, I’m hosting a live parent workshop focused on:
• Why anxiety plateaus, even after treatment
• Why reassurance and consequences alone don’t work
• How to shift the home environment without escalating conflict
• What actually rebuilds momentum in stuck teens
This conversation is especially relevant for families navigating school refusal or performance anxiety in high-functioning kids who look “fine” from the outside but are struggling underneath.
If your teen is capable but stuck, this workshop is for you.
Comment “WORKSHOP” or send me a message and I’ll share details.
If your teen says they “don’t care” about school… but their world keeps getting smaller, this might not be a motivation problem.
What often looks like laziness is actually an avoidance loop.
And once that loop gets going, pressure and consequences rarely fix it.
I’m hosting a live parent workshop on:
Why Anxiety Isn’t Improving — When It’s Starting to Look Like Avoidance
If school resistance, shutdown, or daily spirals feel familiar right now, I’ll share what’s actually happening — and what creates movement.
Details in the link.
Keeping it intentionally small.
— Sheree
That’s the part no one talks about.
Your teen skips the hangout → anxiety drops.
They don’t raise their hand → relief.
They stay home from school → immediate calm.
Relief shows up fast.
And the anxious brain loves fast relief.
The problem?
Short-term relief trains long-term fear.
Every time we escape discomfort, the brain learns:
“Good call. That was dangerous. Let’s avoid it again.”
This is why anxiety grows quietly.
Not because your child is weak.
Not because they don’t care.
But because their nervous system is being reinforced.
Understanding this changes everything.
We stop arguing about behavior…
And start helping them build tolerance for discomfort instead.
That’s where real confidence is built.
If your teen seems fine with schoolwork but falls apart around people… there’s a reason.
People are unpredictable.
A math problem has one right answer.
A worksheet doesn’t judge you.
A textbook doesn’t ignore your text.
But people?
They can misunderstand you.
Not respond.
Laugh at the wrong moment.
Shift tone.
Change plans.
For an anxious brain, unpredictability = threat.
So it tries to control the only thing it can:
Avoid the situation. Stay quiet. Don’t risk it.
It’s not that your teen doesn’t want friends.
It’s that their nervous system doesn’t like variables it can’t control.
When we understand that, we stop labeling it as “shy” or “dramatic” and start building tolerance for uncertainty instead.
That’s where confidence actually grows.
⸻
An anxious brain doesn’t avoid connection because your child is weak.
It avoids because it’s trying to keep them safe.
For many teens, social situations don’t just feel uncomfortable, they feel threatening. The nervous system prioritizes relief, even when that relief keeps them stuck.
Season 2 of Unwritten Rules of Belonging is about what’s happening underneath the behavior.
Because when we understand the nervous system, we respond differently, and differently is what helps kids move forward.
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