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Worry Management

Posted Friday, 28 July 2023

Date issued: June 2023

Review date: June 2025

Ref: C-538/EL/Clinical Psychology/Worry Management

All CWP interventions are based on CBT. They usually last between 6-8 sessions and progress continues after the end of intervention, especially when new ideas and skills are practised at home
The sessions can be with your child and/or you, face to face or via video and/or telephone call
Attending regular sessions is important for change

WM is a suitable evidence-based intervention for young people who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Worry management is particularly effective for young people who have lots of different ‘what if’ worries

Learn about how worrying impacts on our thoughts, feelings and behaviors
Practise each step of WM, the first one being to record the worries. Younger children are encourage to “catch the worry bugs”
Explore the “Worry Tree”, which illustrates a plan for what to do with the identified worries
Learn about the difference between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ worries. ‘Yes’ worries are worries about things that we can control and for which a plan of action can be made, ‘No’ worries are worries that are out of our control, such as the weather or a person becoming poorly
We then explore ways to ‘Let the worry go’ and find out about ‘Worry Time’

It is important that the young person knows that there is no such thing as a ‘silly’ worry
Normalise feeling worried and talk about how you problem- solve your worries
As with all our interventions, it is really important that the child or young person practices the techniques at home. As a parent or care giver, it would be great if you helped facilitate these tasks
Provide gentle (but not pressured) reminders for the young person to use the worry tree and write their worries down. (It is ok if the young person doesn’t have daily worries)
Plan for and make time to complete the ‘Worry Time’
Although we understand it can be very tempting, it is important not to ‘rush’. If your child then chooses to do more, that is fantastic!
Celebrate your young person’s attempts as well as successes, no matter how big or small
Remember it is a journey for the young person and with you beside them, they can achieve great things!

“What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety” by Dawn Huebner
The Huge Bag of Worries by Virginia Ironside
Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries by Creswell and Willetts

If you have any questions regarding this intervention or the CWP sessions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Wellbeing Practitioner!