Treatment for Selective Mutism in High Schools

In 2023 this seminar will be run as a webinar. See  here for June 9th webinar details.

 

This evening seminar about treatment for selective mutism is targeted for school staff, parents and educators who want to help a child with selective mutism in high school. Selective Mutism is a condition that severely restricts a child’s capacity for communicating verbally outside the home and occurs in only 1 in every 555 children between the ages of 7 and 15. It is a treatable anxiety disorder, but becomes more entrenched and difficult to treat as the child gets older. For children with in high school there are often many co-existing problems that occur alongside selective mutism such as depression, social problems, relationship issues, academic anxiety, and generalised anxiety. Selective Mutism in teenagers generally requires a few years of treatment in order to resolve. An intensive treatment program in high school is an essential part of treatment for teenagers with selective mutism. At the Selective Mutism Clinic we work closely with an assigned ‘key worker’ and support staff at the child’s high school to train them to deliver this program. 

 

Topics that will be covered in the evening seminar:

• What is Selective Mutism
• Understanding Selective Mutism as an anxiety disorder
• The complexities of Selective Mutism in high school children – it’s not all about the mutism
• The role of a ‘key worker’ to work with children with selective mutism in the school
• Understanding how to apply a graded approach to treat anxiety and selective mutism
• Understanding the factors that make it easier or harder for children with selective mutism to communicate
• Specific treatment strategies to use in high school including building a teen’s talking to the ‘key worker’
• Building a teen’s talking with different classes and with different teachers
• Common issues and questions

 

The seminar is recommended for:

• High school teachers and their management teams who currently have a child with Selective Mutism at their school or an extremely reluctant talker
• School Counsellors or Learning Support staff who provide support to high school children with Selective Mutism
• School staff who wish to attend a professional development opportunity and learn about a rigorous behavioural method of treating an anxiety condition
• Family members of a child in high school with Selective Mutism, or other key figures in the child’s life who might want to gain a better understanding of the high school treatment program

 

About the presenter:

Dr Elizabeth Woodcock is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Selective Mutism Clinic and also MindBox Psychology in Sydney. She has a Masters of Clinical Psychology and PhD from the University of NSW with over 20 years’ experience in treating child and adult mental health issues across both private practice and the public sector in research and clinical settings.

Elizabeth has a special interest in treatment of Selective Mutism and has seen or supervised close to 1000 cases of Selective Mutism in clients ranging from late 2’s to adulthood. She is first author of the chapter ‘Treatment Programmes for Children with Selective Mutism’ in the book ‘Innovations and Advances in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ edited by D. Einstein (2007). Elizabeth runs a series of training webinars about Selective Mutism each year to suit a range of audiences, including teachers, parents, speech pathologists, and psychologists.

Cost:

The seminar price is $150. Each additional person in the same booking (needs to be within the one payment) costs $50 per person. Cancelled bookings can be transferred but not refunded.

Registrations:

To register, click on the link below to pay via Paypal or pay via credit card. This will add the relevant items to your basket, then navigate to the basket and follow the links. If your school or organisation is paying and you would like an invoice to be sent to the school, click here to email the clinic and provide your name and phone number and request an invoice. Alternatively, you can call the clinic on 02 9438 2511.

Registrations close: