About the Child & Adolescent Anxiety Clinic
About the Child & Adolescent Anxiety Clinic
The Child and Adolescent Anxiety Clinic at MUARU opened in 1993. Our aim is to continually increase our understanding of child anxiety and to improve ways of controlling it. We try to understand how anxiety develops, what keeps anxiety going and which aspects of treatment are most effective in reducing young people's anxiety so that future programs can be designed to be of most help to those suffering from anxiety. We continually evaluate and update our programs to make sure they are the best available. All treatments that we offer at the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Clinic aim to teach young people ways of managing their anxiety. They are practical, and common sense and they do not involve any medication. Most of the programs require parent involvement and will also involve practice exercises for full benefits. We have programs that are suitable for young people who are able to attend our clinic and programs for those living in rural and remote areas. We also have a new program that is designed for young people who are both anxious and depressed.
Participating in our research programs allows families access to cutting edge treatment for anxiety, at a cost considerably less than that charged by private psychologists. We can keep costs down because we are funded by the Australian Government to conduct research into anxiety in young people. People who come through our programs are asked to help with the research in a variety of ways. Firstly, participants are asked to assist us by filling in questionnaires and coming in for assessments, even after their treatment has finished. This is because our studies investigate the long-term effectiveness of the treatments we provide. As part of the assessment process we also ask that they participate in research activities that help us to investigate the origins and maintenance of anxiety.
Following assessment, the treatment options vary on the age of the young person and where the family resides.
If you are interested in treatments for:
- a primary school child (years 1-6, aged 7-12) information is here.
- a pre-schooler (aged 3-6), or as parents information is here.
We are now running a program "Creating Confident Kids" for parents.
- a high school teenager (years 7-12, aged 12-18) information is here.
We are now running a program "Study Without Stress" for students in years 11 and 12 who are studying for the HSC.
