ANXIETY MANAGEMENT
Group Therapy Program Development and Research
Anxiety has become one of the more common presenting problems for adolescents in secondary schools and its reported incidence as a primary issue has significantly increased over the past few years. Young people report significant effects on their learning due to anxiety. In working with older adolescents and adults I have noted that anxiety issues, if not treated early, can lead to: significant gaps in schooling or an inability to finish school; impaired relations with peers; low self esteem; drug use or abuse; problems adjusting to work situations and anxiety disorder in adulthood. School refusal, particularly during the Year 7 transition year, is becoming more evident and it is often through school attendance concerns that anxiety issues are identified. Small group programs are very popular with adolescents, so it was hoped that a group therapy approach to anxiety management would overcome difficulties with engagement that sometimes occur where avoidance is a primary coping strategy. During the Teacher Professional Leave I researched extensively the area of Emotional Intelligence and anxiety management. Emotional Intelligence refers to the capacity to deal effectively with one‟s own and others‟ emotions. It involves being able to competently perceive, express, understand and manage emotions. Developing emotional intelligence would have significant implications for anxiety management. Using the key competencies of, and current research into, Emotional Intelligence, I developed a small group program on Anxiety management for adolescents („Chill Out‟). Through my research and the leave project, I have established a working partnership with the Centre for Neuropsychology at Swinburne University, who have undertaken considerable research into Emotional Intelligence and have developed an Australian instrument (Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test) for assessing EI competencies. An adolescent version of the SUEIT has also been developed. I am currently trialling a pilot group program using my anxiety management program, “Chill Out”, with a group of five Year 7 students. The students had been referred to me as the school counsellor mostly through parental concerns over the young person‟s anxiety issues, and all were keen to participate in a group program. The students all completed the adolescent SUEIT and the Revised Children‟s Manifest Anxiety Scale and the same tests will be repeated as post testing. It is envisaged that a more comprehensive research into the correlation between the program, emotional intelligence and anxiety management, will be undertaken within the Sunbury Diggers Rest network of schools.
Barbara Lloyd
2005