School-based interventions for child and adolescent anxiety

Although anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problem among young people, more than 80% of children and adolescents do not receive treatment. Implementing interventions in schools may overcome barriers to care and serve as a cost-effective means of addressing the unmet mental health needs of anxious youth. The school environment is also a natural setting for anxiety interventions, as many common triggers of anxiety occur in school, such as approaching peers and taking exams. This chapter presents four school-based intervention programs for child and adolescent anxiety: FRIENDS, Cool Kids, Skills for Academic and Social Success, and the School-Based Treatment for Anxiety Research Study. These four programs were selected because their feasibility and transportability have been demonstrated in multiple randomized controlled trials, and there have been significant efforts to investigate whether they can be delivered effectively by school personnel. Following the overview of these programs, various issues, challenges, and future directions related to the implementation of school-based anxiety interventions are discussed.