Treatment Plan for Child's School Phobia

Regarding the examination, most psychological explanations of school phobia held that it occurred as a result of anxiety about separation from the mother (Sue, Sue & Sue, 1994). However, review of the research on school phobia shows that it often does not develop until after the child has attended school and has been separated from the mother without problems for periods up to several years (see: Papalia & Olds, 1992). Thus, the psychological approach was judged as not providing a firm foundation for the development of a program to remediate school phobia.

On the other hand, a good deal of research suggests that behavioral explanations are the most valid accounts of school phobia (Kauffman, 1995). These explanations postulate that traumatic incidents at school (e.g., threatening or stressful demands for academic or social performance which the child feels unable to meet) causes the child to seek escape or refuge at home. Adding to the support for the behavioral explanation is the fact that behavioral principles have long been used successfully to remediate the condition (Papalia & Olds, 1992).

The program that was developed for the seven ye

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m since studies have shown that parental cooperation in terms of following learning principles in response to the child's behavior concerning school attendance are crucial to treatment success (Kauffman, 1995). The program proper will begin on a Monday. However, the weekend before that, the child will be exposed to in vivo approximations of school attendance for an entire day. Two sessions will be given, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The purpose for scheduling these in vivo sessions is to relax the child and provide a degree of calm at returning to school on Monday; such sessions have been found to greatly reduce the anxiety levels of children with school phobia (Kauffman, 1995). On Monday, parents will be asked to drive the child to school where he will be met by a counselor. The counselor will then reinforce the child for showing up at the school. (As to what reinforcements will be used, these will have been pre-determined during initial discussions with both the child and the parents). The counselor will then tell the child that he needs only to remain in school for one-half hour and if he wishes to go home after this period, he will be allowed to do so. It is expected that this procedure will also reduce the
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1370
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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