Clinician Administered Treatment Resources

Psychological Interventions

When treating a young person for school refusal the primary treatment goal is to get them to return to school as soon as possible.¹ Cognitive-behavioral interventions are well-researched and effective treatments for school refusal. Parents are actively involved in treatment, and are coached to consult and problem-solve with school staff about their child’s difficulties. Parents should also learn how to effectively respond to school refusal behaviors (e.g., praising the successful demonstration of coping skills during practice sessions and ignoring tantrums or excessive physical complaints).²

• When Children Refuse School:  A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach – Therapist Guide
• School Refusal: Parent, Adolescent and Child Training Skills

Since children who are having difficulty at school or are refusing to attend school may meet criteria for an Anxiety or Depressive Disorder, the information posted under these behavior health categories may be helpful to you.

Other Resources

School Refusal Behavior in Youth: A Functional Approach to Assessment and Treatment

School Refusal: Assessment and Treatment
N. King, T. Ollendick, B. Tonge

School Refusal in Children and Adolescents
An American Family Physician article providing a good overview of school refusal, assessment and treatment.

Pharmacotherapy

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry does not recommend that medications be used as a first line or stand-alone intervention for pediatric anxiety.³ The use of pharmacological agents in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral interventions may be indicated.

Pharmacological treatment, such as some antidepressants (e.g., SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants) and antianxiety medications (e.g., benzodiazepines), may be helpful for addressing anxiety symptoms in children. More

¹Fremont, W. P., (2003). School refusal in children and adolescents. American Family Physician, 68, 8, 1555-1560.

²Heyne, D.  (in press). School refusal. In J. E. Fisher & W. O’Donohue (Eds.). Practitioner’s guidelines for evidence based psychotherapy. New York: Kluwer.

³American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1997). Practice parameters for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Journal of the American Academy Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(10 suppl).