Managing Anxiety & The Return To School Webinar Series

Anxiety & Return to Schools Webinar Logo


>> New 2021 Series Out Now! << 


The Managing Anxiety & Return to School webinar series is part of The Back-to-School Series - Supports for Staff, Students & Families During COVID-19. Click here to learn more about our series of webinars on concrete strategies to strengthen connections, promote mental wellness and resilience, and support everyone in the return to schools during a global pandemic.

 

As we continue to navigate life during a pandemic, it is no surprise that anxiety and uncertainty are rising. This is true for youth, their families, and educators. This series is designed to highlight what anxiety looks like and walk through evidence-based interventions for anxiety in educational settings. 


Part 1: Anxiety & School - Identifying Anxiety and What To Do About It

September 9, 2020
1pm - 2:30pm (Pacific Time)

 

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns youth face. While it is a normal emotional experience, it can grow to become incredibly distressing and interfering, particularly as it comes to school. When anxiety is present in the school setting (whether in-person or remote), educators have an important role in encouraging and reinforcing brave vs. anxious behavior. Research supports the importance of youth moving from a cycle of avoiding to a cycle of approaching anxiety-provoking situations in order to overcome problematic anxiety. In this webinar, we will discuss how to identify, understand, and intervene for problematic anxiety for youth in your classroom.
 

Webinar Objectives:

  • Identify common ways in which anxiety presents in school settings including in-person and online formats.
  • Learn empirically supported strategies to reduce problematic anxiety.
  • Describe school-based approaches for anxiety that encourage and reinforce empirically supported strategies (approach to anxious situations vs. avoidance).

 

Presentation Materials:  

 


Part 2: Anxiety & School - Managing Anxiety During COVID

October 7, 2020
1pm - 2:30pm (Pacific Time)

 

The COVID-19 pandemic is eliciting significant psychosocial concerns for youth and adults alike, especially anxiety. Educators have unique opportunities to engage with youth during this time, despite the fact that most schools are operating remotely. Identifying and implementing strategies for all (educators and youth) to cope with anxiety during this time is important. In this webinar, we will discuss how to identify anxiety, distinguish typical and problematic anxiety, and describe/utilize coping strategies for anxiety, and promote resilience in educational settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Webinar Objectives:

  • Distinguish typical vs. problematic anxiety within educational settings (both in-person and remote formats) during a global pandemic
  • Apply evidence-based strategies for anxiety to these situations as an educator
  • Learn to promote use of evidence-based strategies for anxiety for youth within an educational setting
  • Understand how implementation of effective anxiety coping strategies can promote resilience

 

Presentation Materials:  

 


Part 3: Anxiety & School - Answering Your Questions

December 9, 2020
1pm - 2:30pm (Pacific Time)

 

Have you watched Part 1 or Part 2 of our Managing Anxiety & The Return to School webinar series? Do you have questions on how we can support staff, students, and families navigate returning to school during a global pandemic? Are you curious about how to identify problem anxiety in youth or what coping strategies may help?

If so, please join us for this live, interactive Q&A session with Drs. Jennifer Blossom, Kendra Read, and Cesalie Stepney to ask your questions or listen to answers to questions others have. All are welcome to attend!

 

Presentation Materials:  


Our Presenters:

BlossomJennifer Blossom, PhD is a Clinical Child Psychologist with expertise in assessment and intervention for youth with anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Dr. Blossom has worked in some capacity in the field of clinical child psychology for over 10 years. Currently, Dr. Blossom is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Psychology and Human Development at the University of Maine at Farmington (UMF), teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Before joining UMF, Dr. Blossom completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Seattle Children’s/University of Washington where she conducted research and provided clinical services within the Mood and Anxiety Program and Crisis Care Clinic. Dr. Blossom maintains an active research program related to service delivery, efficiency, and access for youth with internalizing problems, with particular emphasis on expanding behavioral interventions within integrated healthcare settings.

 

ReadKendra Read, PhD is a clinical psychologist, the Director of the Mood & Anxiety Program and Director of Anxiety Programs at Seattle Children’s. She is also the Director of Psychotherapy Training through the University of Washington School of Medicine Child Psychiatry Fellowship. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA under the mentorship of Philip Kendall, Ph.D., completed her internship in pediatric psychology at Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department. Dr. Read specializes in the treatment of youth with anxiety disorders and OCD from a cognitive behavioral therapy perspective. Her research interests include understanding factors that contribute to treatment outcome, and the dissemination and implementation of CBT for anxiety disorders. 

 

 

Cesalie HeadshotCesalie Stepney, PhD is a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s with roles in the departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. In the psychiatry department, Dr. Stepney is the director of the Anxiety Training Clinic for first year psychiatry fellows and a provider in the anxiety clinic and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program. In her work in adolescent medicine, she works on the integrated care and gender clinic teams. Dr. Stepney specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders and OCD, depression, and emotion dysregulation. She also has a strong interest in working with BIPOC populations and gender diverse youth.  Dr. Stepney received her PhD in clinical psychology from Rutgers, The State University of Jersey. She completed her internship at the Yale School of Medicine and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington in the Leadership in Adolescent Health (LEAH) program. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she also received a Master’s of Education in Risk and Prevention from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

 

 


Want more information and school mental health resources? Visit the Northwest MHTTC's School Mental Health page and sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular updates about events, trainings, and resources available to the Northwest region.
 

Copyright © 2024 Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network
map-markermagnifiercrossmenuchevron-down