AR

A (very) brief overview Welcome, health and safety Introductions Why are we here? What is anxiety like? What does it look like in your school Definitions and brain function Dynamics Working with anxiety in your school AR 2

How is anxiety manifesting in your school Talk on your tables: What do you notice and hear pupils and staff: Thinking Feeling Doing What are you hoping to get out of today? AR

Scale Rates of depression and anxiety in teenagers have increased by 70% in the past 25 years. (Young Minds – Wise Up) Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with 7.8% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis (NICE 2016) In 2013, there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK.1 In England women are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders as men.2 (Mental Health Foundation) AR

Stress, performance and anxiety CH

Fight, flight, or freeze? CH

CH

Fight, flight and freeze in C21 We are no longer surrounded by the physical threats in our environment Nevertheless, we can still feel threatened by events and this can induce the fight, flight or freeze response. The FFF response affects our body and mind – we tend to see things in black and white. The FFF response is bad for us if we experience it over a prolonged period – it affects our immune system. CH

CH

An anxious ecosystem? 10

CH

Whose anxiety is it anyway?   Whose anxiety is it anyway? Suicide risks for primary and nursery school teachers is higher than in the general population, official figures say. Guardian, 11.1.18 CH

The dynamics of anxiety How easy is it to help somebody with their anxiety if we are feeling stressed ourselves? How might our responses be affected? CH

AB

Working with anxiety in your school

Hot cross bun model Environment Environment CH

Addressing physical sensations Use the neurobiological explanation to help children understand that their physical feelings are normal and that we can do something about them. Help to reduce the physical sensations by teaching them “calm breathing”. CH

Addressing thoughts and feelings Explain that our thoughts will influence our feelings. See the example in the hot cross bun where the person doesn’t respond. If we think they ignored us, we might feel rejected but other explanations will give use different feelings. For instance, perhaps they didn’t see us. “Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us. Lets see if we can spot some of the tricks our minds might be playing on us.” Take a look at the Anxiety BC Test Anxiety booklet Part 2: Think About Thinking CH

Addressing Behaviours Avoid avoidance. Build a fear ladder (would it help to call it a confidence ladder?) Anxiety BC, Youth, Facing Fears CH

A preventative approach In an ideal world, is there anything we could have done earlier to help put children in a better place to be able to manage their anxiety? ALL

Other tools available Socatic Questioning Challenging Anxious thoughts Breathing techniques Grounding techniques All resources available on the BEP website

The 5 Ps of formulation Presenting issues: statement of client’s presenting problems in terms of emotions, thoughts and behaviours Precipitating factors: the proximal external and internal factors that triggered the current presenting issues Perpetuating factors: the internal and external factors that maintain the current problems Predisposing factors: the distal external and internal factors that increased the person’s vulnerability to their current problems Protective factors: the person’s resilience and strengths that help maintain emotional health

Further resources Papyrus Emotionally Healthy approaches to GCSEs and GCSE Guide 20 things to do with an anxious child https://www.anxietybc.com/ Breathing exercises All available on BEP website