President’s Letter: Our Tools for Lightening Anxiety

It is December as I write this article and I am fresh from the excitement of PSCA Conference 64. The energy and positive vibe of this year’s conference will sustain me for a while. I commend our executive director, Dr. Judy Bookhamer, and her amazing, dedicated conference staff for providing a wonderful professional development opportunity. To those who attended, presented or participated in any way, I am so grateful for you. Conference provides time for networking with friends and colleagues and for reenergizing our souls for the important work that we do every day as school counselors.

This issue of the Pennsylvania Counselor is about student anxiety. None of us needs to research statistics to know that the rate of anxiety in children and adolescents has increased dramatically. As reported in ASCA School Counselor (January/February 2019), according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, one in eight young people are affected by anxiety. The CDC reports that approximately 1.8 million children under the age of 18 suffer from anxiety disorders. The median age of onset is six years old. School counselors at all levels of education understand the impact that anxiety has on the lives of our young people – academically, socially, emotionally and behaviorally. Young children can often explain to us their diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, or social anxiety disorder, among others; others have no words to describe their struggle. They may keep their fears and discomfort hidden, though they manifest in other ways.

School counselors do not have a quick fix to cure anxiety. However, we have many tools in our toolbox to help our students understand and manage their anxiety. From individual counseling to small group counseling, classroom education and schoolwide programming, we can teach our kids to tame their anxious feelings so that they can better cope with the stress in their lives.

I recently stumbled onto the website Hey Sigmund with the banner tagline, “Where the Science of Psychology Meets the Art of Being Human.” The site addresses a number of psychological, emotional and simply human issues. It provides a wealth of information about anxiety in kids and adolescents for parents and anyone who cares about young people. I encourage you to take a look. My greatest take-away was the importance of teaching kids that anxiety is part of a normal, healthy brain, developed to protect them from danger. Sometimes, however, it perceives danger where it might not be. When kids can recognize the function of anxiety and understand how it works, they are better able to manage this giant thing that interferes with life.

As we approach the second half of this school year, I invite you to breathe deeply, relax, ground yourself in the concrete world around you and continue to work hard for the children in your lives. Wise old Benjamin Franklin said, “Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

Contact Beth Stem, PSCA president, at mbs@whsd.org.