Early and Preventive Interventions Are Important for Adolescents and Children with High Levels of Anxiety

Academician of European University of Lefke (EUL) Department of Psychology Assist. Prof. Dr. Sultan Okumuşoğlu made a presentation in the International Scientific Researches Symposium and in her notice she addressed the effect of a protocol on reducing anxiety in school settings with adolescents with high levels of anxiety. Okumuşoğlu emphasized that the success of an intervention protocol based on cognitive behavioral approach in reducing anxiety was demonstrated by a randomized-controlled study and underlined that early and preventive interventions are especially important for adolescents and children.

Emphasizing the importance of preventative and early interventions, EUL Academician Okumuşoğlu underlined the importance of implementing such interventions in the school environment and eliminating the obstacles that make it difficult to reach such as time and space and explained the reasons for the emergence of early school-based interventions around the world.

It is necessary for every individual child or adult to have a bit of anxiety

Okumuşoğlu said that no intervention could have the purpose of completely eliminating anxiety and resetting it, and that some anxiety is actually necessary for every individual child or adult, and no one could survive with zero anxiety and added that “Survival even when crossing the street is only possible with an appropriate amount of anxiety”. Okumuşoğlu stated that anxiety disorders, in which preventive interventions are tried to be applied in order to stop stereotyped behavioral patterns with severe symptoms in the future, are different from experiencing the appropriate amount of anxiety in the appropriate situation and described anxiety disorder as the state of expectation of possible future threats and the existence of a severe fear and anxiety experience disproportionate to the existing threat. Okumuşoğlu further said that “This definition presents a very different picture from having the appropriate amount of anxiety necessary to survive” and underlined the importance of interventions in the school environment, especially for children and young people – in the form of volunteer group work.

With psychoeducation and new ways of thinking, anxiety can be prevented from becoming disproportionate and disrupting

Okumuşoğlu said that group works which is becoming increasingly important school environment in the world include psychoeducation about the anxiety of the participant, new ways of thinking, skills to use anxiety in a useful way, and relaxation skills to prevent anxiety from becoming disproportionate, disrupting.