Taking a break from school might feel like a relief for kids who struggle with school attendance. However, without school refusal intervention, the underlying issues—like anxiety, social fears, or academic overwhelm—don’t just disappear. Summer is a unique opportunity to work on coping skills, address fears, and gradually reintroduce the idea of school in order to prepare for the academic year to come.

If you work with children and adolescents, you know that supporting mental health in an educational setting can be complex. Between Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), Section 504 Plans, and a shifting legal landscape, these systems can feel overwhelming. This month’s newsletter aims to break down key aspects of the laws that contribute to these services and provide you with the tools you need to advocate effectively for your clients and students.

We’ve all encountered the question: Is it time to refer this client out? It’s never an easy decision, and it comes with ethical, practical, and emotional considerations. We want to provide the best possible care, but sometimes that means helping a client transition to a different provider or a higher level of support. So, this month, we’re diving into when to refer out, how to do it ethically, how to collaborate with schools, and ways to support clients during long wait times.

If you work with children and adolescents struggling with anxiety disorders, you know how crucial it is to keep refining your approach to treatment. Today, we want to highlight the Inhibitory Learning Model (ILM) — an evidence-based framework that offers a nuanced understanding of exposure therapy and its effectiveness. Traditionally, exposure therapy has been viewed through the lens of fear extinction, where the goal is to reduce a young person’s fear response over repeated exposure to a feared stimulus. However, the research has not always supported this perspective on why ERP is effective. Enter the Inhibitory Learning Model — a paradigm shift that focuses on helping clients develop new, non-fear-based associations with anxiety-provoking stimuli.