Peer-Supported School-Based Treatment for Adolescents

Significant work highlights that youth with anxiety disorders experience impaired peer relationships. Many of the situational triggers of anxiety are related to social interactions that occur in the school setting such as participating in class, making friends, and joining extracurricular activities. Thus, school-based treatments that facilitate social exposure and provide anxious youth with opportunities for repeated practice of social skills in their natural setting can be especially impactful in addressing youth anxiety. This chapter describes the benefits of integrating peers in CBT interventions at school. One specific school-based intervention that emphasizes peer involvement, Skills for Academic and Social Success, is described, along with evidence to support its effectiveness. Additional evidence-based programs delivered at school that support positive peer relationships are summarized. Considerations related to utilizing school-based interventions with students with marginalized identities and the potential to increase access to mental health services for historically underserved youth are described.