How to help students cope with anxiety

Back to school jitters are common for many students, but for some the anxiety lingers.

Parents can learn how to help students deal with those stresses when the Glenbard Parent Series presents "Coping Strategies to Regulate Anxiety: An Introduction to Distress Tolerance" at noon Thursday, Sept. 15, in the Carol Stream Elementary District 93 Administration Center, 230 Covington Drive, Bloomingdale.

Experts say rates for school anxiety are on the rise, and often treatment may be necessary.

Licensed clinical psychologist Laura Koehler will discuss the common triggers of school stressors and their impact on students. Participants will learn how anxiety leads to emotional dysregulation, how accommodations in school can lead to continued avoidance of activities and school, and how to introduce distress tolerance to help students manage anxiety.

The session will teach participants how to help students change unhelpful behavior, move toward acceptance of difficult emotions and learn that aspects of life are out of our control.

Dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and exposure therapy can help move students toward a fuller and more meaningful life. Instead of avoiding the discomfort, the goal is for youth to increase their ability to manage stress and overwhelming emotions.

Koehler, who is on staff at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville, works with adolescents and their families.

The session is free. For information, visit glenbardgps.org or contact Gilda Ross, Glenbard District 87 student and community projects coordinator, at (630) 942-7668 or gilda_ross@glenbard.org.