- About the Child & Adolescent Anxiety Clinic
- Primary school children
- High school children
- Parent programs
- How to get help
How to get help if you want to be in our programs
Step one - Contact us.
Parents should contact us by phone on (02) 9850 8711. An intake officer will:
- Explain about the treatments offered at the clinic
- Take a brief description of the young person's difficulties, and advise parents about their suitability for the program.
- Answer any questions about the program.
- Organise an appointment time for the family to be assessed by a psychologist.
A doctor's referral is not required to participate in our programs. Referrals are not accepted directly from health or school professionals however we are happy to discuss a potential family at any time.
Step two - Assessment.
Before treatment can begin, parents and young people must complete an assessment conducted by a psychologist. This assessment takes place over two separate appointments.
Before the first appointment, the family will be sent a questionnaire pack to be completed, in most cases, by the young person, and both parents. These questionnaires must be fully completed and brought along to the first appointment.
During the first appointment, the psychologist will speak to parents and the young person separately, and ask a range of questions about feelings, thoughts and behaviour. The purpose of this first appointment is to find out all about the current difficulties and to make sure that the clinic can provide appropriate help. If the psychologist determines that the young person could receive more suitable help elsewhere, an appropriate referral will be given.
At the second appointment, parents and young people will complete a series of activities that help us to understand more about the young person's experience of anxiety. This appointment may involve observation of the young person completing tasks that may make them anxious, observation of interactions between parents and their child or further discussion about the history of the young person's experiences with anxiety.
The assessment process also includes completion of a series of questionnaires by young people, parents and teachers. These will be partly completed at home and partly completed at the clinic.
Assessments for families outside of Sydney are conducted by telephone or video-conferencing. They are not required to attend the clinic in most circumstances.
Step three - Treatment Begins.
If the assessing psychologist determines that the young person is suitable, they will then be offered a place in one of our programs.
If there is a current research study suitable for their age, the family will be randomly placed into one of the treatment conditions of that study or to the waitlist. There is no choice in this - in order to provide a proper test of the effects of treatment, these offers must be random. Research groups are offered at low cost, with the full cost being subsidised by research grants. At the end of the treatment or the waitlist period (usually 12-16 weeks after beginning), if a young person has not improved, we are happy to offer our most effective treatment at no charge.
If there is no current research study in that age group, the family will be offered a place in the treatment program most suitable given the young persons age, location and current difficulties. There will be a cost associated with participating in the program offered.
Step four - Progress Monitoring.
At the end of all treatment programs or at the end of the waitlist period, we will again conduct a thorough assessment into the young person's progress and current anxiety levels. As mentioned above, if a family was in the waitlist, they will then be offered our "best" treatment.
If a family was in one of the main treatments and they have not improved at this stage, don't despair - improvement often happens after the actual treatment is over and the family has had the time to practice the skills taught to them. For this reason, we remain in contact with families for a minimum of 12 months continuing to assess and review progress at various points. If a young person continues to not improve, we will discuss appropriate options with their family.
In all of our programs there is also a possibility that we will contact families much later (perhaps 4-5 years) to see how the young person has developed over time. At any time, if it is not convenient for you to be assessed, we can negotiate a more suitable time, or you can even refuse altogether if you wish.
How to get help if you don't want to be in our programs
If the information about our research program does not suit you, or if your child is assessed and it is felt that our research treatments would not suit him or her, we also offer broader therapeutic services. If you would like more information about our non-research clinical services, click here.
