1. AR

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Stress, performance and anxietyCH

6. Fight, flight, or freeze? CH

7. CH

8. 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

9. CH

10. An anxious ecosystem? 10

11. CH

12. 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, CH

13. 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

14. AB

15. Working with anxiety in your school

16. Hot cross bun model
Environment
Environment CH

17. 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

18. 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

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

20. 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

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

22. 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

23. Further resources Papyrus
Emotionally Healthy approaches to GCSEs and GCSE Guide
20 things to do with an anxious child
Breathing exercises
All available on BEP website