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The Feasibility and Acceptability of a School-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Program for Anxiety in Children: A Pilot Investigation

Karen Hancock, Anoushka Houseman, Angela Dixon, Cassandra Hainsworth, Lauren Luthra, Jeanette Mansour

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of implementing an existing empirically based acceptance and commitment therapy program for children with anxiety- “ProACTive”-tailored to school children. The purpose of the pilot study was to guide the planning of a larger scale more comprehensive investigation.

Methods: Two groups of school aged children in Western Sydney (one primary school, n=8 aged 7-12, one high school aged 12-15 years, n=8)with an anxiety disorder (N=16), nominated by their school counselor, teacher or parent, participated in a 10-week pilot trial of the intervention.

Results: Quantitative assessments of the program revealed improvements in childrens’ anxiety and quality of life outcomes. Qualitative data from individual postintervention interviews reported parents perceived their child benefitted most from ACT skills such as mindfulness and defusion. They also found the concept of facing fears step by step and integrating this with mindfulness greatly assisted managing their anxiety. Three school counselors trained in ProACTive trialed and evaluated the program; they were unanimously positive about the program. Following feedback, the program was further refined to improve communication with parents and preparation for exposure therapy.

Conclusion: The findings suggest ProACTive is a feasible intervention for children with anxiety and offers guidance to those schools currently using or wishing to use ProACTive to assist their students manage anxiety.