Harnessing Motivation: Navigating the Challenges of Selective Mutism and Anxiety Treatment

April 2025

Dear SMA Community,

Navigating the journey of overcoming selective mutism and anxiety can feel like climbing a steep mountain. It’s challenging, sometimes overwhelming, and progress might not always be linear. Because of this, maintaining motivation throughout treatment is not just helpful, it’s essential.

Selective mutism and anxiety treatments typically involve consistently facing situations that trigger fear and discomfort. Exposure exercises, therapy sessions, and social interactions often push individuals outside their comfort zones, creating moments of fear, doubt, and exhaustion. In these critical moments, motivation becomes the anchor that helps people keep moving forward rather than giving in to anxiety.

How can we maintain motivation, especially when faced with a daunting road ahead? Whether you’re a parent supporting your child or managing your own selective mutism, recognizing what genuinely excites and motivates can make all the difference. Connecting treatment tasks to personal passions and interests transforms difficult tasks into purposeful and rewarding experiences. It can help focus you on what anxiety is holding you back from, rather than just boxes you’re trying to check off to complete.

For children, leveraging favorite activities like Legos, TV shows, sports, or art can turn anxiety-provoking exposures into enjoyable and less intimidating encounters. Imagine practicing speaking skills by pretending to order ice cream at a Lego-themed store or presenting artwork about a favorite cartoon character to classmates. These creative approaches foster intrinsic motivation, building positive associations with speaking and social interactions, further reinforcing progress each step of the way.

Adults and adolescents can also benefit from clearly connecting short-term challenges with long-term aspirations. If your objective involves cultivating friendships, improving academics, or achieving professional growth, regularly reminding yourself how the challenges faced today directly facilitate these future successes can be helpful. Understanding and visualizing this link provides ongoing motivation and strengthens resilience when treatment feels especially hard.

Creating and nurturing a supportive network around you can enhance motivation throughout your journey as well. Engaging with peers who genuinely understand your experiences offers powerful validation and encouragement. Sharing progress, exchanging insights about challenges and victories, and receiving encouragement from individuals on similar journeys can significantly boost confidence and motivation. It’s one of the reasons why we start all our SMA parent support groups with each person sharing one win from the last month. 

It’s important to acknowledge that treatment for selective mutism and anxiety isn’t easy, and progress isn’t always straightforward. Motivation can naturally ebb and flow as well. However, continuously revisiting your personal motivators, such as clearly defined goals, favorite activities, or support networks, can provide the consistent spark needed whenever doubt or fatigue sets in.

As you reflect on your own or your child’s treatment journey, make a point to identify and articulate what truly motivates and inspires. Write these motivators down clearly and revisit them often. This month, prioritize identifying and reconnecting with your or your child’s unique motivators. Share your insights, successes, and experiences with the SMA community—we’re all in this together, cheering you forward with every brave step.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Kohlmeier SMA Board of Directors