Toni Boos, Psy.D. will moderate a discussion with Leslie Brankin, Psy.D. and Anna Finis, Psy.D. about school anxiety and refusal from childhood through young adulthood. This presentation will provide an overview of school anxiety and refusal and will help families gain an understanding of its various presentations, potential causes and functions of refusal behavior, and strategies for supporting youth and young adults in getting to school more consistently. They will also discuss how to best partner and collaborate with schools and community resources to create change.

Drs. Brankin, Finis, and Boos are all licensed clinical psychologists on staff at Compass Health Center (CHC). They will cover a range of topics, including 1) the relationship between anxiety and school refusal behavior; 2) the various functions of school refusal behavior; 3) the role of the family system as it relates to school anxiety and refusal, including an overview of family accommodation and how to set up plans and systems at home to improve school attendance; 4) ways families can partner with schools to support youth and young adults with school anxiety and refusal; and 5) when to seek out professional mental health support.

Dr. Brankin is the director of the Young Adult Mood and Anxiety Program at CHC in Northbrook, IL. Her clinical and professional experience has included working in inpatient hospitals, therapeutic day schools, and community mental health centers. Dr. Finis is the director of CHC’s Child Mood and Anxiety Program and specializes in individual, family, and group psychotherapy with children and adolescents presenting with a wide range of behavioral, social, and emotional challenges. Dr. Boos is associate director of child programming at CHC/Northbrook, and co-creator, with Dr. Finis, of the School Anxiety and School Refusal track there. Dr. Boos oversees this track and trains clinicians in exposure and response prevention.

This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on our website and YouTube channel.

This event is presented by Family Action Network (FAN). Gorton Center is proud to partner with FAN as a sponsor of this event to bring this programming to our patrons.