Anxiety in the Classroom

CPD

Handouts

Speaker

Paul Foxman, PhD Related seminars and products

Vermont Center for Anxiety Care

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Paul Foxman, PhD, has led hundreds of workshops throughout the US and Canada, and he has appeared on television and radio as an expert on the topic anxiety. His books include The Clinician’s Guide to Anxiety Disorders in Kids & Teens (PESI, 2016), Dancing with Fear (Hunter House, 2007) and award-winning The Worried Child (Hunter House, 2004). He also co-authored a casebook, Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders (with Glatzer) (Hunter House, 2002). Dr. Foxman’s most recent book, Traumas and Triumphs, was published in 2022. Dr. Foxman is known for his knowledge and clarity, sense of humor, compassion, and engaging speaking style.

Dr. Foxman is a clinical psychologist, as well as founder and director of the Vermont Center for Anxiety Care. In 1985, he co-founded the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, VT, now flourishing from kindergarten through high school. Dr. Foxman has over 40 years of clinical experience in a variety of settings including hospitals, community mental health centers, schools, and private practice.

Dr. Foxman’s education includes Yale University (BA in Psychology), Peabody College of Vanderbilt University (PhD in Clinical Psychology), and training at the Department of Psychiatry of Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco, the Kennedy Child Study Center in Nashville, and the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Paul Foxman is the founder and director of the Vermont Center for Anxiety Care. He is a published author and receives royalties. Dr. Foxman receives a speaking honorarium, book royalties, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Paul Foxman is a member of the Vermont Psychological Association and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

Objectives

1. Design effective strategies to decrease the stress response in kids with learning disabilities to improve information processing, listening skills, and comprehension.
2. Summarize the different ways anxiety manifests in the classroom (worry, social isolation, attention deficits, etc.) and determine the appropriate strategy for reducing symptoms.
3. Implement a three-step skill building model for stress management among young clients.
4. Utilize classroom friendly calming and relaxation activities to keep students engaged.
5. Determine the signs of normal anxiety vs anxiety disorders to enhance teaching effectiveness.
6. Evaluate the impact deep breathing exercises have on anxiety to enable task completion in the classroom.

Outline

• How, when and why anxiety develops in children
• The anxiety temperament (biological sensitivity)
• The “anxiety personality” – assets and liabilities
• The role of stress in anxiety

• Perfectionism
• Worry
• Task avoidance
• Restlessness and hyperactivity
• Attention deficits
• School avoidance
• Social isolation
• Depression and withdrawal
• Fatigue and low energy
• Low motivation
• Disorganization and poor time management
• Academic inconsistency or decline
• Learning disabilities
• Behavior problems

• Separation anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Social anxiety disorder (including selective mutism)
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Assessing stress level in students
• 3-S approach to stress management (signs, sources and skillful solutions)
• Focusing the mind for learning
• Classroom friendly calming and relaxation activities
• Encouraging “flow”
• Mindfulness strategies
• Relationship building with anxious students
• Tips for reducing test anxiety
• Creating calm in the classroom
• 3 questions: intervention for anxious parents
• “Responsive Classroom”: applications and research findings
• Risk management with high-conflict divorce families
• Managing technology use in and out of school
• Best approach to bullying
• Anxiety curriculums for schools (friends for life, lifeskills)
• Special considerations for preschoolers
• Behavioral health recommendations
• How to be a role model for low stress and anxiety

• Consider scope of practice
• Empirical and anecdotal evidence
• No “one size fits all” for any modality of anxiety treatment

Target Audience

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