Supporting Students with Anxiety: Solution Focused Strategies for the Busy School Counselor LACA...
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Transcript of Supporting Students with Anxiety: Solution Focused Strategies for the Busy School Counselor LACA...
Supporting Students with Anxiety: Supporting Students with Anxiety: Solution Focused Strategies for the Solution Focused Strategies for the
Busy School CounselorBusy School Counselor
LACA Fall WorkshopOctober 29, 2013
Rick Auger, PhD Jackie Brand, LSC
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Session GoalsSession Goals
Provide basic information about childhood anxiety—what it is and how it works
Present a number of interventions for anxiety that are appropriate for use by school
counselors (and try a few out)
Discuss special considerations for young children
Have everyone leave with at least two important ideas related to childhood anxiety that can be applied in schools immediately
Anxiety is….
What happens when you focus on perceived future threats…
Believing the challenges facing you exceed your ability to meet those challenges…
A combination of physiological, cognitive, and behavioral reactions...
Fueled by self-doubt…
What you should target in your intervention (rather than targeting the object of the anxiety)
Anxiety as a spectrum…Anxiety as a spectrum…
Minimal Symptoms
Troubling Symptoms
Anxiety Disorder
10% - 20%
2010 Minnesota Student Survey
During the past 30 days, have you felt nervous, worried, or upset?
Grade 6 boys
Grade 6girls
Grade 9 boys
Grade 9girls
Grade 12 boys
Grade 12 girls
All of the Time
3% 4% 4% 5% 4% 4%
Most of the Time
7% 9% 6% 12% 7% 12%
Percentage of students in your building Percentage of students in your building who experience significant anxiety:who experience significant anxiety:
1% – 5%
6% – 10%
11% - 20%
21% - 30%
More than 30%
Emotional response to perceived threats
Types of anxiety disorders• Separation anxiety disorder• Selective mutism• Specific phobia• Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)• Panic disorder• Agoraphobia• Generalized anxiety disorder• Separate disorders in DSM-5 but sometimes grouped with
anxiety disorders:• Obsessive-compulsive disorder• PTSD• Acute stress disorder• Adjustment disorder with anxiety
Neurobiology of Anxiety
The neurobiology of anxietyRettew (2012)
• Adolescents’ two brain-related problems: too much accelerator and not enough brake
• Individual differences in behavioral inhibition
• The link between temperament/personality and anxiety
• Anxiety is real and in moderation is adaptive
Interventions for Anxiety
There is just one of you
And there are many of them
Relaxation: The go-to anxiety intervention
Relaxation strategies
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Guided imagery
• Deep breathing
Progressive muscle relaxationProgressive muscle relaxation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFwCKKa--18
http://visuals.autism.net/
Exposure strategies
• Help students face their fears—GRADUALLY
• Involves gently exposing students to their fears, and then helping them relax away the fear
• Start with visualization, then move to in vivo
Steps for Gradual Exposure:
Relaxation training
Create anxiety hierarchy
Anxiety arousal (via imagery)
Relaxationcoping
Homework,practice
Recognition ofanxiety cues
Cognitive strategies
• Slogans
• Reframing
• Developing coping strategies for the possibility that things might go wrong
• Teach and model going with the flow
Cognitive strategies
Reframing
Student: “I’m always so stressed about my assignments!”
Counselor: “I wonder if that stress is really just energy that you could use to keep yourself working hard?
Cognitive strategies
Reassurance therapy: “It seems like you’re catastrophizing again. I’m sure your mind won’t go completely blank during your speech. You’ll do fine.”
Developing coping strategies:“Well, I think it is very unlikely that your mind will go completely blank, but just in case let’s talk about what you can do if that does happen. How could you cope with that?”
Cognitive strategiesCognitive strategies
Example: Keep a thought record
SITUATION AUTOMATIC THOUGHT EVIDENCE RATIONAL
THOUGHT
Solution focused strategies
Students with anxiety have ways of thinking that are naturally problem-focused:
•Unrealistic worry:
“It will be awful if I fail”
•Exaggerating the risks and dangers of life:
“I’ll definitely fail if I take Advanced English”
•Excessive self-consciousness:
“Everyone noticed when I tripped walking up the steps, and now they all think I’m a dork”
Assumptions of Solution-Focused Assumptions of Solution-Focused CounselingCounseling
• Concentration on solutions can better facilitate positive change
• Every problem has exceptions and contains seeds of a solution
• Small improvements can lead to bigger improvements
• All students have untapped strengths and resources and the ability to solve/manage their own problems
Assumptions of Solution-Focused Assumptions of Solution-Focused CounselingCounseling
• Focusing on positive goals facilitates change
• There is no single right way to look at problems and issues
• Insight into the cause of a behavior is not necessary to change the behavior
• It is not necessary to know a great deal about the problem in order to be helpful
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Looking at problems differently can encourage their resolution
Example: From “I have high anxiety” to “I haven’t figured out the right strategies to
manage my anxiety”
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Engage in solution talk rather than problem talk
Problem talk: “How was your anxiety this week?”
Solution talk: “Tell me about the times this week when you
felt comfortable and relaxed”
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Look for exceptions – times when students are effectively managing
their lives and issues
Example: Tell me about a time you did not feel anxious?
What were you doing?
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Focus on small and reasonable changes rather than dramatic wide
ranging changes
Example: Setting a goal of moving from 2 to 3 instead of 2 to 10
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Externalize the problem
Examples:What name could you give to what we are talking
about here?
Tell me times when you have beat worry and have felt at ease?
Anxiety is sure bullying you around! What can you tell anxiety to get it off your back?
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Compliment students on past and current accomplishments and
positive changes
Example: “You were really able to tackle that anxiety and get through that test!”
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Don’t ask students to do something new – rather, ask them to do a
variation of what they have already had success with.
Example: “You’ve done such a nice job of turning around your relationship with Mr.
Green. I wonder if you could do some of that same work to get along better with Ms.
Brown?
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Help form goals that are in positive terms and that are concrete,
specific, and measurable
Examples: Be on time for school three or more days this
week Participate in two social events weekly with
peers
Solution-Focused GuidelinesSolution-Focused Guidelines
Flag the minefield
Examples:
“What has gotten in your way of achieving this goal in the past? What can you do to make
sure that doesn’t happen this time?”
“Last week you got pulled away from your goal of paying attention in class by your friends.
How will you overcome that this week?”
A counseling dialogue…
Student: “I get so worried about big tests. My mind just goes blank. I can feel myself blowing it. I hate it…”
A support-oriented school counselor might say:“I can hear the discouragement in your voice. That must be hard—to know that you can do better, but to have your anxiety interfere so much.”
A counseling dialogue…
Student: “I get so worried about big tests. My mind just goes blank. I can feel myself blowing it. I hate it…”
A cognitive-oriented school counselor might say:“That sounds really discouraging. I wonder if your mind really goes blank or if you just haven’t really listened to the thoughts you have. Let’s try to figure out what thoughts you have during tests, and whether those thoughts help you or hurt you.”
A counseling dialogue…
Student: “I get so worried about big tests. My mind just goes blank. I can feel myself blowing it. I hate it…”
A solution-focused school counselor might say:“That sounds really discouraging. But I see from your transcript that you are still getting solid grades. There must be times when you are able to contain your anxiety enough to let your knowledge shine through. When is the last time that happened, even a little? Let’s talk about that…”
Mindfulness strategies
• Mindfulness: Bringing one’s complete attention to the present experience on a moment-by-moment basis
• Exercise: Focus on doing one thing at a time (the opposite of multitasking) for a day
• Exercise: Use self-message to narrate your activity
• Exercise: Practice bringing one’s attention back to the present with self-message “Come back to the present”
Anxiety management apps…
AnxietyCoach (Mayo clinic)
Anti-Stress Quotes
Calming Breath
Optimism
ZenView
Time management for Time management for anxietyanxiety
•Help student do a “time study” for a week. How many hours studying? Overcommitted?
•Create a month-long calendar.Insert study times, major projects, etc.
•Work the calendar a day at a time.
Anxiety in Young Children
Types of Anxiety in Young Children
• Separation Anxiety• Phobias• Generalized Anxiety
General Information:Anxiety in Young Children
• Early intervention
• Co-occurring disorders
• Anxiety in young children often stems from• Child’s temperament & genetic risk• Parental anxiety (role modeling)• Adult response• Previous experiences
General Information:Anxiety in Young Children
In all types of anxiety, remember:
• Acknowledgement of anxiety
• Don’t advise avoidance
• Incremental Plan
• Proper sleep, nutrition, activity
• Give them the tools
Separation Anxiety: Symptoms
• constant thoughts and intense fears about the safety of parents and caretakers
• refusing to go to school • frequent stomachaches and other physical
complaints • extreme worries about sleeping away from home • being overly clingy • panic or tantrums at times of separation from
parents • trouble sleeping or nightmares
Separation Anxiety: Brief Interventions
• Preparation
• Educating and supporting parents
• Drop off and pick up
• Overly protective parent
Specific Fears or Phobias in Young Children
• Age appropriateness
• From fear to disorder
• Brief counseling
Specific Fears or Phobias: Brief Interventions
• Get the details
• Previous experience
• Child’s perspective
• Object of his fears
• Desensitization
• Art & Objects
Generalized Anxiety in Young Children:Brief Interventions
• Regular routines
• Sufficient sleep
• Prepare for changes in routine
• Intervening with parents
• Educating parents and teachers
• Positive self-talk & Visual imagery
• Relaxation (www.consciousdiscipline.com)
Children’s Books
When To Refer
Mental health referrals for children with anxiety are appropriate if:
• the student has moderate to severe anxiety that is interfering with function (isolation, chronic absenteeism, self-harm, failing classes)
• the school counselor is not comfortable managing the student’s anxiety (or does not have sufficient time for even brief interventions)
• the child or family request a referral
• the student is not responding to brief school-based interventions.
Where To ReferChild Anxiety Center821 Raymond Ave., Suite 270 St. Paul, MN 55114Phone: (651) 645-5558
Anxiety Treatment ResourcesEdinborough Corporate Center Suite 6503300 Edinborough WayEdina, MN 55435 Phone: 952-854-2622
University of Minnesota Amplatz Children's Hospital2450 Riverside Ave.Minneapolis, MN 55454800-233-7503 (Toll-Free)
University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview West Bank Emergency Department2312 S. 6th St.Minneapolis, MN 55454
National Alliance on Mental Illnesshttp://www.namihelps.org/support/young-adult-nami-connection.html
FACTS1385 Mendota Heights Rd StationMendota Heights, MN 55120 (651) 379-9800
Hennepin County: http://hennepin.us/portal/site/HennepinUS/menuitem.b1ab75471750e40fa01dfb47ccf06498/?vgnextoid=49e2e5d0820a3210VgnVCM10000049114689RCRD
Ramsey County: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/refugee/rgramsey.pdf
Dakota County: http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/healthfamily/mentalhealth/lowcostservices/pages/default.aspx
Resources for adolescents• The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, 3rd Ed.
Edmund BourneNew Harbinger Publications
• The Anxiety Workbook for TeensLisa SchabNew Harbinger Publications
• Helping Students Overcome Depression and Anxiety, 2nd Ed.Ken MerrellGuilford Press
TED talks
• Andy Puddincomb: All it takes is 10 mindful minutes
• Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend
• Matt Killingsworth: Want to be happier?
• Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself
** Go to www.ted.com/talks/ and search under the presenter’s name
Thank you!Thank you!
Thank you for inviting us to share the morning with you!
Send us questions or comments:[email protected]@mnsu.edu