Review of "Overcoming School Anxiety"
By Diane Peters MayerAMACOM, 2008
Review by Anthony R. Dickinson, Ph.D. and Lucillal Lau on Oct 20th 2009
Remarkably well written, and with the average parent in mind comprising her primary readership, Diane Peters Mayer presents a superb 'primer' concerning an oft described (but usually poorly interpreted) familiar topic of general interest to many (if not all ?) parents. Of likely benefit also to those working with children in schools of various kinds, training centres, and community-support networks, this one volume affords a fuller grasp as we have seen of school-related anxieties, in the form of easy-to-read case study vignettes with interpretive discourse, accompanied by practical exercises for simple implementation in relieving them. Perhaps lacking in clear evidence for most of her claims with regards the clinical or physiological literature alluded to (references remain uncited, although the author does provide a 'Resources' section which lists several relevant books and websites), we would have liked to see a 'sources' section included for the more research-oriented reader to explore the facts as stated, for themselves.
Following an initial introductory section concerned with definitions and characterizations of a wide range of anxiety-related symptoms and contexts (being careful to distinguish anxiety from fear or stress per se), the best possible start introduces the reader to 'anxiety' as an experience not necessarily to be avoided (i.e., as 'bad'), but as a phenomenon to be managed throughout the ontological development of every child's personal growth (from day 1 at kindergarten through high school). The following chapters 3-13 each deal with a different specific manifestation of anxiety-provoking experiences common to children of school ages, including separation anxiety, worry, novel situation avoidance, homework and examination anxieties, perfectionism, self-esteem management, bullying, and parent-intrafamily conflicts. We imagine that many parents will wish to focus upon only one or two of these chapters as may be most relevant to their own child(ren)'s anxiety symptoms once identified, but for professionals working with life-skill enhancement training programs and psychometric assessment caseloads, reading Peters Mayer cover-to-cover will (we believe), reveal much of significance for use in the parenting consultancy clinic also. Each of the 10 middle chapters first outlines the relevant target anxiety-related expression symptomologies (with variations and partial-differential diagnosis, DSM-IV refs, etc.), followed by aetiology considerations, occurrence frequency data, exercise and 'treatment' recommendations, symptom management procedures and some excellent checklists. These are each presented as 'stand-alone' readable chapters (we in particular enjoyed the chapters concerned with Bullying (Ch.12) and Parental and Family Conflict (Ch.13 ) and, with ready reference to the many 'common' solutions to be found in the later chapters 14-19, which introduce and discuss the author's own preferred 'ready for use' techniques for managing anxiety, with parent(s) and child working together to experience the benefits of belly-breathing, visualization, and a variety of other physical activity-based distractions.
Although not explicitly stated, one recurrent theme extractable throughout this book (at least from the view of the current reviewers), is the author's hinting that the key to anxiety reduction lays in its management, rather than its avoidance or annihilation. Indeed, as she does later state towards the conclusion of her book (correctly in our view): "If a deep belief exists that the symptoms of anxiety [and not simply their deliberate expression*] in all their disturbing manifestations are harmless [and not life-threatening*], then it does not matter where or when they strike, anxiety and panic will decline and lose their power" (p.170, *square bracket text indicates additional reviewer commentary). Initially reminiscent of the psychodynamics of the early 1970s and 1980s, this book offers much more than the usual fare of that nature, with extensive discussion of a range of different anxiety management strategy(ies) and practical advice for immediate home-based implementation(s), with appropriate cautions also being sounded with regards the use of either psychotropic medications, or other 'alternative' forms of therapy which parents may be considering to expose their anxious child(ren) to. A final take-home (do-at-home ?) message recurrent in the text, is for parents to consider the possibility that their child(ren) might be 'learning' at least some of their anxiety-related expressions/behaviours from their observations of other family members as they may have exhibited them in stressful situations (and especially those of their own parents). Peters Mayer repeatedly states that the exercises which she proposes be conducted by both parent and child together (and of this part the current reviewers are particularly supportive), with parents remaining willing to model the very behaviours they might wish to engender in their new, and increasingly less-anxious children, as they also grow toward a more mature, and relatively stress-free, adulthood experience.
© 2009 Tony Dickinson & Lucillal Lau
Dr. Tony Dickinson & Lucillal Lau, Academic Research Laboratory, People Impact International Inc, HK.
Resources
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Articles
- What is Anxiety?
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The Biopsychosocial Model of Anxiety
- The Biopsychosocial Model: Causes of Pathological Anxiety
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part II
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part III
- Biological Explanations of Anxiety: Part IV
- Psychological Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Psychological Explanations: Part II
- Social Explanations of Anxiety Disorders
- Development & Maintenance of Anxiety Disorders
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Classification & Diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders
- The Classification and Diagnosis of Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Attacks: A Classic Symptom of Several Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Disorder
- Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Selective Mutism
- Agoraphobia
- Specific Phobias and Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Other Anxiety-Related Disorders
- Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Disorders
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Anxiety Disorder Theories and Therapies
- Anxiety Disorders: Theories and Therapies
- Behavioral Learning Theory and Associated Therapies
- Operant Conditioning
- Operant Conditioning and Avoidance Learning
- Contemporary Views of Behavioral Learning Theory
- Behavioral Therapies for Anxiety Disorders
- Cognitive Theory and Associated Therapies
- Cognitive Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Adjunct Therapies
- Pharmacologic Treatments (Medication)
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Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
- Treatment for Separation Anxiety Disorder
- Treatment for Selective Mutism
- Treatment for Panic Disorder
- Treatment for Specific Phobias and Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
- Treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (OCSDs)
- Conclusion
- Anxiety Disorder References & Additonal Resources
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News
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Questions and Answers
- Anxious About Opinions
- Possible OCD and Anxiety issues
- Fear
- Stay in Therapy Because I Like it?
- Is My Anxiety a Normal Reaction?
- What am I Supposed to do With a Hypochondriac Step Daughter?
- Need Help
- Husband Continually Annoyed/Angry With Me
- How Can I Overcome my Debilitating Shyness and Fear of Life?
- Really Desperate..Please Help
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111 more
- OCD and Trauma?
- Depression
- I Don't Care For Anything, I Feel as Though I'm Wasting my Life.
- Unwanted Thoughts
- Anxiety Has Taken Over My Life...
- CBT Therapy and Transference
- Transference II
- OCD
- 19 Yr Old Naive Daughter
- Fear of Choking
- Help
- Should I be Worried?
- Too Much Time doing Homework
- Falling Apart
- Can't Stand Noise
- What Is Intimacy, Exactly?
- Is She Ill?
- Social Anxiety, Depression and More...
- Do I Have Just Social Anxiety or Other Diagnoses Combined with SA?
- Need To Ask Someone
- False Memories
- Help! Please!
- Two Year Old Son Wandered
- Infections and The Brain
- Are Personality Disorders For Life?
- I am Terrified of Death.
- Anhedonia
- Our 23 Year Old Son Refuses to Get Help for His Anxiety Attacks and Depression.
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorder vs. Personality Disorder: Differences?
- Restroom Phobia
- I'm Afraid I'm Going Crazy
- Post Brain Surgery Mental Problems
- Would Medication Help?
- obsessive strange thoughts about life and existentialism
- Am I Crazy?
- Is it Anxiety? Is it Normal to Be Like That?
- Depressed 19 year old college student
- Depression helps to contribute to my unemployment! - Paula
- Relationship Anxiety
- Disconnected
- I'm Scared
- Please help fix my mom. - Kenny
- OCD?
- Saving my Son
- Scary thoughts, dark feelings, help?
- Swallowing fear
- Is there something wrong with me?
- I have PTSD and I feel nothing
- OCD Cure
- Repressed Memory
- I have OCD. Will this increase my child's chance of developing Autism?
- Crazy Thoughts
- 20 Year Old Female: no friends, depressed, what should I do?
- unwanted thoughts!
- crazy thoughts... all the time
- A very low threshold for stress tolerance
- Why can't I get gross images out of my head?
- fear of expiration
- SPECIFIC PHOBIA
- anxiety or going crazy?
- OCB
- visions of what could have been
- about depersonalization
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- OCD/ANXIETY while pregnant
- Amnesia
- Social Phobia
- Constant Counting Disorder
- Anxiety
- Is this OCD?
- Worried about my therapist
- No Friends
- Teenager...angst vs. mental health issue
- phobia regarding uncertainty
- Obsessed with running out of things
- Do I Have OCD?
- Do environmental factors hold a person back?
- Never Had a Relationship
- Shy Rural Student
- Nursing Student's Anxiety
- I'm Afraid They Are Judging Me
- Part Time Work and Stress
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Bathroom Phobia
- Anxiety?
- Mastery Of Anxiety And Panic
- Very Determined Panicker In The South
- Panicking Boyfriend
- Alternatives For Anxiety Treatment
- Is Anxiety A Hereditary Factor?
- Unable To Keep Eye Contact
- Is It Really Panic? And How Do We Get Help
- A Cure For Claustrophobia?
- Panic Attacks
- Shyness And The Post Partum Blues
- Klonopin
- Alternative Treatment
- Can't Afford Therapy
- Driving Phobia
- Indecisive
- Agoraphobia?
- Social Fear
- A Cure For Anxiety?
- Panic Attacks
- Fear of Driving
- Shy Guy
- Anxiety?
- Social Anxiety
- Linda writes:
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Book & Media Reviews
- 8 Keys to Stress Management
- A Brief History of Anxiety
- Anxiety
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorders
- Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic
- Been There, Done That? DO THIS!
- Calm Beneath the Waves
- Elsewhere
- Exercise for Mood and Anxiety
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31 more
- Getting Control
- Helping Students Overcome Depression and Anxiety
- Just Checking
- Mind-Body Workbook for Anxiety
- Monkey Mind
- My Age of Anxiety
- Overcoming School Anxiety
- Panic Disorder
- Passing for Normal
- Phobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
- Repressed Spaces
- Self-Coaching
- Stress
- Stress Survival Guide
- Textbook of Anxiety Disorders
- The 10 Best Anxiety Busters
- The Age of Anxiety
- The Anxieties of Affluence
- The Dutiful Worrier
- The Emotional Eater's Repair Manual
- The Male Stress Survival Guide
- The Places That Scare You
- The Stress Cure
- The SuperStress Solution
- Treating Affect Phobia
- Under Pressure and Overwhelmed
- Viniyoga Therapy for Anxiety
- When Words Are Not Enough
- Wish I Could Be There
- Yoga for Anxiety
- Yoga Journal's Yoga for Stress
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Self-Help Groups
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Links
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Videos
- How to Manage ADHD and Anxiety
- What You Need to Know about Students with ADHD and Anxiety
- How To Make Room For Gratitude In An Anxious Brain
- How to Stay Calm When You Know You'll Be Stressed
- Anxiety and Teen Girls with Lisa Damour, PhD
- Is it Anxiety or a Heart Condition?
- Identifying and Treating Anxiety in Kids and Teens
- Child Anxiety, It’s Real
- Helping Children Cope with Anxiety
- Anxiety, Trauma and How Prolonged Exposure Therapy Works For PTSD
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26 more
- OCD, Phobias and Anxiety
- How Weighted Blankets May Lift Anxiety
- Controlling Anxiety
- Too Scared: Social Anxiety Disorder
- Panic Disorders Video
- Phobias Video
- Treating Anxiety Disorders: A Unified Protocol
- Treating Youth Anxiety and Social Phobia
- Overcoming Anxiety in Children and Teens
- Treating Anxiety in Children and Teens with ASD
- Back-to-School Anxiety
- No More Shame: My life with Anxiety and Depression
- Adolescent Depression and Anxiety
- What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
- Living Without Fear
- What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
- What is Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
- School Anxiety! Activities To Help Kids and Teens Manage It
- Recognizing and Treating Problematic Fear and Anxiety in Children
- How To Stop Overthinking When You Have Anxiety
- My Anxiety Is Making Me Anxious!
- Evidence-Based Treatment Planning for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Video
- Managing Anxiety in Youth: More Action Than Talk
- Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety
- Recent Advances in Anxiety - Children/Adolescents
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More Information
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with David Barlow, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic Disorders
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Dr. Michelle Craske on Anxiety Disorders Research and Treatment
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Richard Heimberg, Ph.D. on Anxiety Research and Treatment
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