Psychologists have a requirement to undertake Continuing Professional Education. This can be attendance at courses or seminars, or completing other activities which contribute to continued learning. As Psychology is an ever-evolving field in a phase of huge discovery, it is especially important for clients that we as Psychologist keep up to date on best practice.

It was with that in mind that I recently decided to learn more about the a program called Cool Kids. The Centre for Emotional Health is a Macquarie University initiative, which researches and treats emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression, through their Clinic. Over more than 20 years of research, they have developed a treatment program for anxiety, called Cool Kids.

Cool Kids is what’s called a manualised treatment program, and is based on cognitive behavioural therapy strategies. This means that if a child has symptoms that are consistent with anxiety, they will be taught specific strategies, in a way that have been proven to be effective at helping people reduce their anxiety. Cool Kids can be undertaken as either part of a group of kids, or one-on-one. On the outcomes of treatment, the Centre for Emotional Health state “following treatment, there are marked increases in school attendance, academic achievement, confidence, number of friends and involvement in extra-curricular activities and decreases in worry, shyness, fear and family distress.” This means that for the majority of kids who undertake Cool Kids, they will experience less anxiety, and enjoy their life more.

To provide some specificity to particular age groups and presentations, there are a few different version of the Cool Kids program:

• Cool Little Kids
• Cool Kids Anxiety Program
• Cool Kids ASD Anxiety Program
• Cool Kids (Chilled) Adolescent Anxiety Program
• Cool Kids (Chilled) Adolescent Anxiety and Depression Program

I was confident that Cool Kids was a service I wanted to be able to offer my young clients and their parents. As I had learned that the program(s) could only be delivered by accredited providers, I set about doing the Cool Kids training program, so that I could become one. After learning about the Cool Kids-specific way of addressing anxious thoughts and behaviours, and showing that I understood the theory and techniques involved, I’m happy to be able to offer the Cool Kids suite of programs.