GPS speaker to address adolescent anxiety and school refusal, resistance

The GPS Parent Series: Navigating Healthy Families will host Laura Koehler in a program titled “Teen Anxiety and School Anxiety: Dealing with Resistance and Refusal” on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

There will be a Zoom webinar at noon and a hybrid in-person event at the Nicols Public Library in Naperville and on Zoom at 7 p.m. Go to the GPS Parent Series website for information and the links to these webinars.

Young people can feel anxious about school for many reasons. While some students may refuse to go to school on occasion, school refusal behavior is an extreme pattern of avoiding school that can cause significant problems for a child.

This important presentation will focus on what caregivers and school staff can do when a child experiences anxiety about going to school. Participants will learn about the purpose of anxiety, the signs and symptoms of anxiety and how anxiety affects academic performance. Attendees will gain a better understanding of school refusal, develop strategies to help regulate emotions and identify coping skills that can reduce intense anxiety in the moment.

Koehler is a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health for over 14 years. She is the manager of anxiety services, which includes partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs for children, adolescents and adults. Koehler’s approach to treatment integrates Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, along with Exposure Therapy to provide the skills needed to increase the ability to regulate emotions and tolerate overwhelming feelings.

GPS is generously sponsored by the Emmy Gaffey Foundation, Cebrin Goodman Center, Prevention Leadership Team of the DuPage County Health Department, Duly Health and Care, Glenbard Early Childhood Collaborative, Cooperative Association for Special Education (CASE), College of DuPage, KidsMatter, Endeavor Health, Community Consolidated School District 93 Birth to 5 Coalition, DuPage Regional Office of Education, and Webb-Hutter Family Fund of DuPage Foundation.

Share information about these events with friends and relatives.

To be placed on a reminder list for GPS events or submit a question in advance, contact Gilda Ross, student and community projects coordinator, at gilda_ross@glenbard.org or (630) 942-7668.