Back2School and school absenteeism
Centre for the Psychological Treatment of Children and Adolescents
Back2School is CEBU’s research-based program for children and adolescents with school absenteeism. The programme provides families and schools with concrete strategies to support students’ return to education and social participation.
Quality assurance of the treatment process
To ensure sufficient quality in the implementation of a Back2School treatment programme, we recommend the following:
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The total time required for a therapist to complete a treatment programme (including the initial assessment and the clinical case conference) is estimated at a minimum of 50 hours.
Note for scheduling: It is important to allocate time for a clinical conference following the initial assessment interview. -
The therapist should receive supervision (preferably in a group) approximately every second week during at least the first ten cases.
Further recommendations regarding therapist qualifications can be found in the manual.
Advice to parents on concerning school absence
- Bedre Psykiatri (English: Better Psychiatry) has published a webinar on concerning school absence, which can be viewed here. Bedre Psykiatri (English: Better Psychiatry) also presents five pieces of advice on school absence from Mikael Thastum, Professor of Clinical Child Psychology and Health Psychology. Click here to read the five pieces of advice (in Danish).
- Angst & StressForeningen (The Anxiety & Stress Association) has gathered information on school absence on their website, which you can read about here (in Danish).
- ParentingStrategies has published guidelines for parents on how to manage concerning school absence. The guidelines are available in English and can be downloaded here. If you would like to read more about parenting strategies for supporting your child’s mental health, you can find further information on the ParentingStrategies website here.
Overview of the Back2School sessions
| Session | Participants | Content |
| 0 | Parents and child Therapist | Structured assessment interview with the family including motivational work. The family receive handouts on psychoeducation and SMART goals as homework for session 1. Before session 1, the therapists are summarisingall relevant information, including the questionnaires, into a case formulation. Therapists are discussing the case formulation, choice of treatment modules, and treatment goals on a clinical conference |
| 1 | Parents and child | Presenting and discussing the case-formulation (a common understanding) with the family. Psychoeducation regarding school absence Development of SMART goals |
| 2 | Parents | Clarify and solve questions/problems regarding school placement, somatic symptoms in child, and parental motivation for change. Planning better routines at home. Working with sleep problems. Introduce the parents for rewards and praise as motivation for the child |
| 3 | Parents | Rehearse with roleplaying to give instructions in a clear and kind way Reinforcing positive behavior Introduce ignoring |
| 4 | Parents and child | Psykoeducation on exposure Planning a graduated exposure plan for returning to school Planning the first school meeting |
| School meeting 1 | School staff and parents | Presenting and discussing the case formulation with the school. Planning the role of the school in the youth’s return to school. Informing the school about the B2S and CBT approach. |
| 5 | Parents and child | Introduction to cognitive restructuring If relevant psychoeducation regarding the youth primary problem related to school absence (anxiety, depression, or behavioral problems). Continuing work with the gradual exposure plan for returning to school. |
| 6 | Parents and child | Cognitive restructuring Continuing work with the gradual exposure plan for returning to school. Problem solving. How can the parents help Introduction to positive child/parent interactions |
| 7 | Parents and child | Separate methods for anxiety, depression and behavior problems. For all: Continue with the school stepladder Anxiety: Anxiety stepladders/exposure Depression: Avoidance behavior and consequences. Behavior activation Behavior: Family rules. Token system |
| School meeting 2 | School staff and parents | Follow up on the youth’s progress in the school setting. Discussing potential academic difficulties. Discussing problems regarding bullying or other problems. |
| 8 | Parents | Parental behavior Anxiety (e.g. overprotection) Depression (how to react as parents) Behaviour (negative consequences) |
| 9 | Parents and child | Optional sessions Continue to work with the relevant methods. Continue to focus on school stepladder |
| 10 | Parents and child | Optional sessions Continue to work with the relevant methods. Continue to focus on school stepladder |
| 11 | Parents and child | Focusing on maintaining and continuing the progress Relapse prevention Planning school meeting 3 |
| School meeting 3 | School staff and parents | Planning how the school can continue to help and support the youth. Discussing relapse prevention |
| Booster session | Parents and child | Maintaining and continuing the progress. Problem solving regarding relevant problems. Relapse prevention. Advise possible further help. |
| Booster school meeting | School staff and parents | Planning how the school can continue to help and support the youth. Discussing relapse prevention |
Publications
