Helping Your Students with Anxiety (07881)

Presenter: Dr. Patricia Graczyk

Anxiety is the most common behavioral health challenge faced by today’s students. Unfortunately, the prevalence of anxiety disorders in school-aged children and youth has increased by approximately 30% since the pandemic. 

Even more so now, schools function as the “de facto” primary mental health service provider for the vast majority of students. Thus, educators need to know how to prevent students from developing debilitating anxiety disorders, identify anxious students in need of additional supports, and provide effective practices to support students and build their resilience.

To accomplish this, participants in this professional development offering will:

1. Reflect on the three major components of anxiety and apply them to situations in which they themselves have felt anxious, worried, or fearful.
2. Compare and contrast the common anxiety disorders in school-aged children and youth, the anxiety process for different anxiety disorders, and reflect on how this process could manifest itself in school.
3. Recognize and reflect on the co-occurring challenges that students with anxiety often face and the negative outcomes for which students with untreated anxiety are at heightened risk. 
4. Discuss, reflect on, and classify protective factors to build student resilience. Participants will then generate and share strategies that they can use to strengthen protective factors. 
5. Compare and evaluate evidence-based practices for anxiety organized within a tiered framework. These practices will include classroom strategies, strategies to address school refusal behaviors, school-family-community partnerships, and assessment and intervention practices for school- and community-based mental health professionals. 

Food will be provided for this event. This is an SEL Hub event. 

Host or Publisher South Cook Intermediate Service Center