Running head: ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 1

Anxiety in Schools

Best Practices in School

Jordan Sicknick

Montclair State University

ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 2

Anxiety in Schools

Why is this relevant?

Anxiety disorders can affect children and adolescents in result of either biological and/or

environmental factors (Alotaibi, 2015). Anxiety is defined as “apprehension or excessive fear

about real or imagined circumstances” (Alotaibi, p. 19, 2015). Children and adolescents

experiencing anxiety can be negatively affected during school and/or at home. Anxiety can cause

children to refrain from participating in social activities, creating friendships, raising their hand

in class, etc. with feelings of isolation, shame, and/or fear. (ADAA, 2014). Some symptoms to be

aware of are: “irritability, sleeplessness, jitteriness, and physical symptoms, such as, headaches

and stomachaches (AADA, p. 2, 2014).

School counselors and other stakeholders should work towards an end goal of the child

feeling in control of their anxiety. In order to increase the child’s comfort, they can be provided

the knowledge of effective coping strategies, so the disorder does not depict their life. With the

ability to manage their anxiety by self-regulation, the child can feel in control of their anxiety

when it occurs. There are many different types of anxiety disorders that the child may be

diagnosed with such as, “separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social

phobia disorder” (Alotaibi, p. 19, 2015). Post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive

disorder were also categorized under anxiety disorders until the DSM-5 was published (NIMH,

2017).

If a child’s anxiety goes unnoticed and/or untreated, the child is in jeopardy of

performing poorly in school, missing crucial social experiences, and later on engaging in

substance abuse (AADA, 2014). Although, anxiety is often co-occurring with other disorders

such as depression, eating disorders, and attention-deficit disorder it should not be minimized
ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 3

(AADA, 2014). By recognizing changes in the student’s behavior at home and at school,

stakeholders can work together to establish appropriate coping strategies with the child and

eliminate the overpowered feeling of anxiety as well as the stigmatizing.

Analysis and synthesis

According to Ginsburg & Kinsman (2014), the first step of addressing anxiety with a

student is to differentiate between an anxiety that can be beneficial to the child and a limiting

anxiety disorder. The main cause of anxiety is still unknown, but environmental factors tend to

be the underlying issue of anxiety, for example, parenting styles or experiencing a stressful

event. Before being able to work effectively with a student, they should believe their anxiety is

not a weakness, but a strength. Students need to be able to recognize their cautious traits can be

used to their advantage. Anxiety can also be found in perfectionism, which is just as negative of

a trait as it is positive. The student must be able to understand that everything will not go as

planned and it does not automatically mean failure.

By utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy and discovering tailored coping strategies, the

child and parents can find the positive aspects of anxiety, but know when it is necessary to get

help. Although each student may have anxiety in common, the strategies that help them reduce

their anxiety may be different. Some students may enjoy speaking about their worries, exercising

to reduce stress and anxiety, or breathing exercises. It is important to provide positive attitude

towards their anxiety and in result, have the student feel in control.

McCormac’s Address Student Anxiety (2016) article focuses on what a school counselor

can do to advocate for a student’s anxiety in school. This article was more focused on

eliminating and minimizing stressors that students are faced with during a school day. Children

are pushed too hard academically, making the unrealistic expectations of perfectionism very
ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 4

common. In comparison to Ginsburg & Kinsman (2014), McCormac (2016) also emphasizes the

effective use of cognitive behavioral therapy with students experiencing anxiety by learning

positive coping strategies as well as mindfulness.

In contrast, this article focuses more on the importance of collaboration with other

stakeholders, so the child feels supported in all environments they interact with daily. In order to

see if there is any progress or changes in the child’s anxiety, it is important for stakeholders to

remain in contact. While these two articles are slightly different on their reasoning behind the

student’s anxiety, they are in sync with the importance of teaching children how to cope and not

feel disabled by their anxiety.

Collaboration

The student will benefit the most by having a team of advocates working towards the

students’ best interest by having parents, teachers, counselors, administration, and possibly

outside therapists in collaboration. According to McCormac (2016), school nurses are often the

first person in schools to recognize a child’s anxiety because of the physical symptoms the child

may feel like, stomachaches, headaches, or shortness of breath. Teachers should be aware of the

common symptoms they may notice during class such as, missing deadlines, decline in

participation, disengagement, etc. (McCormac, 2016). If a teacher is noticing any of these

symptoms in their students or want to take preventative action, they should focus on break time

between subjects, stretching, allow bathroom/water breaks, and starting the class off in a short

mindfulness activity. School counselors can become aware of a student’s anxiety from increased

absences or tardiness, frequent visits to discuss worries, decline in grades, decline in mood, etc.

By collaborating with teachers on these concerns, the counselor can be an outside-of-the-

classroom advocate for the student by proposing possible intervention strategies.

ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 5

The parents/guardians of a child with anxiety will see symptoms at home as well and

should take action in creating an accommodation plan for their child at school. Since the child

spends most of their day at school, they should feel comfortable without major worries

distracting them from their education. Parents are entitled to create a “504 plan” with their

child’s school by the ADA’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as long as their

child has a diagnosis. The child can receive special accommodations to help them succeed to

their best ability. If the parent wishes to agree to a 504 plan, then the teachers, counselors, and

other staff working with the student will be able to converse on which accommodations will

work best to help the child succeed. It is important to let the family know that your staff is not

putting blame towards the parents/guardians and/or stigmatizing their child’s disorder. Instead, it

should be approached as a team of advocates for this student to encourage open communication

between both parties and discuss strategies that may be working and/or not working with the

student. Counselors should relay to the parents/guardians the different accommodations that can

be offered to the student and have an open discussion on what they think will best work for the

specific students’ symptoms.

Aside from approaching students with anxiety on a one-by-one case, the school can take

a district approach in helping their students. By including coping strategies and mindfulness

throughout the school as a part of their daily routine, these exercises will be inclusive for all

students ranging from having minor worries to major anxiety. These inclusive activities can also

help destigmatize anxiety and provide all students with coping strategies that can be useful

throughout many situations of their life. By starting morning homeroom with a mindfulness

meditation exercise, this will allow students and faculty/staff to relax and start their day off

regulated. To continue this regulation throughout the day, teachers can take it upon themselves to
ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 6

administer breathing exercises in the beginning of their class and/or provide short breaks for their

students. Educating students, staff, and parents/guardians of the importance in monitoring, as

well as, accumulating approaches to decrease their stress and anxiety will benefit the child’s

disorder.
ANXIETY IN SCHOOLS 7

References

Alotaibi, T. (2015). Combating anxiety and depression among school children and adolescents

through student counselling in saudi arabia. 6th World Conference on Psychology,

Counseling and Guidance, 18-29. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.006

AADA. Anxiety Disorders in Children. (2018). Anxiety and Depression Association in America.

Retrieved from

https://adaa.org/sites/default/files/Anxiety%20Disorders%20in%20Children.pdf

McCormac, M. E. (2016). Address student anxiety. ASCA School Counselor. Retrieved from

https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/september-october-2016/address-

student-anxiety

National Institute of Mental Health. (2017). Any Anxiety Disorder. Retrieved from

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder.shtml