Dr. Maya Boustani was invited to speak at the San Bernardino School Counseling Collaborative at Cal State University, San Bernardino campus on June 10. Attendees were largely school counselors, but also included school nurses, teachers, and administrators.
After guiding the attendees through a mindfulness exercise, she presented some key strategies on how to manage student anxiety in the school setting. In particular, she discussed the role of school counselors in supporting and advocating for children with anxiety, and how to make adequate recommendations to support student learning.
In addition, she reviewed key differences in anxiety presentations across different types of anxiety disorders and throughout development. She also highlighted some non-typical presentations of anxiety.
Finally, she discussed multi-tiered level interventions for managing anxiety in schools, including deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, positive self-affirmations, self-monitoring of symptoms, and journaling.