Digital Seminar
School Refusal & Resistance: Strategies that Work When Nothing Else Has
- Average Rating:
- Not yet rated
- Faculty:
- Susan Haarman, PhD, LCPC
- Duration:
- 6 Hours 15 Minutes
- Copyright:
-
Sep 29, 2025
- Product Code:
- POS150285
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
School refusal can range from subtle to loud and dramatic. It might look like daily stomachaches, missed buses, or quiet withdrawal – or it can escalate to emotional meltdowns, outright aggression, or fleeing school mid-day.
Behind these behaviors are often deep emotional barriers – not defiance, but distress.
You witness parents and educators grappling with uncertainty, desperate to help as students become trapped in a cycle of avoidance – one that fuels anxiety, depression, and academic disengagement.
Led by Susan Haarman, LCPC, a seasoned expert in adolescence, trauma, and school-based care, this course delivers practical, collaborative strategies for addressing school refusal in even the most challenging cases.
In this training, you’ll gain:
- Accurate Assessment Tools – Improve diagnostic clarity and select the right interventions for each student.
- Personalized Intervention Plans – Utilize templates designed to create effective, individualized school refusal strategies.
- Deeper Understanding of Root Causes – Address the role of family dynamics, cultural expectations, and environmental stressors in school refusal behavior.
- Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches – Learn how cognitive-behavioral therapy, family systems interventions, and pharmacological options can support school reintegration.
- Collaborative Strategies – Work effectively with parents and educators to build a compassionate, non-punitive plan that fosters attendance and emotional well-being.
This interactive training goes beyond theory, delving into real-life case studies and actionable solutions. Through expert insights and practical applications, you’ll leave with a toolbox of interventions designed to help students shift from avoidance to engagement.
Don’t let another student fall behind. Join this essential training and become the clinician who helps turn school anxiety into school success. Register today!
Credit
Handouts
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - School Refusal & Resistance (2.1 MB) | 62 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - School Refusal Case Studies (122.3 KB) | 7 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Community & Cultural Factors in School Refusal (68.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Root Causes Worksheet (144.7 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Community & Cultural Factors in School Refusal - French (68.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Root Causes Worksheet - French (144.7 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - School Refusal Case Studies - French (122.3 KB) | 7 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - School Refusal & Resistance - French (2.1 MB) | 62 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Community & Cultural Factors in School Refusal - Italian (68.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Root Causes Worksheet - Italian (144.7 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - School Refusal Case Studies - Italian (122.3 KB) | 7 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - School Refusal & Resistance - Italian (2.1 MB) | 62 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Community & Cultural Factors in School Refusal - German (68.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Root Causes Worksheet - German (144.7 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - School Refusal Case Studies - German (122.3 KB) | 7 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - School Refusal & Resistance - German (2.1 MB) | 62 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Community & Cultural Factors in School Refusal - Spanish (68.1 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - Root Causes Worksheet - Spanish (144.7 KB) | 2 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| EXTRA HANDOUT - School Refusal Case Studies - Spanish (122.3 KB) | 7 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - School Refusal & Resistance - Spanish (2.1 MB) | 62 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Faculty
Susan Haarman, PhD, LCPC Related seminars and products
Psychotherapy Associates of Chicago
Susan Haarman, PhD, LCPC, is a practicing therapist in Chicago, Illinois. She is an expert facilitator and has been working with young adults for over a decade. Her professional development sessions are active, participatory, and engaging. She also has a PhD in educational philosophy and teaches at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Education. In addition to her career as a therapist, she’s been working in higher education for over 15 years to help students persist and thrive.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Susan Haarman has an employment relationship with Loyola University. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Susan Haarman is a member of the International Association of Research in Service-Learning and Community Engagement.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepepesi.com
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Objectives
- Identify the behavioral features of school refusers to better inform clinical decision making.
- Analyze the functional purpose of school refusal behavior to determine appropriate treatment strategies.
- Identify co-morbid psychological disorders associated with school refusal to improve participation in school.
- Identify cultural and social factors that impact refusal behavior.
- Compare behavioral and pharmacological approaches for the treatment of school refusers.
- Choose strategic school refusal plans that target the underlying motivation and reinforcement systems.
- Choose functional tips to remedy school refusal behavior for parents and school personnel.
Outline
The WHAT and the WHY of School Avoidance and Refusal
Undercover the sources of the rising rates of refusal
- The dynamic difference between school refusers and truants
- Common characteristics of school refusers
- Avoiding of negative affect situations
- Escape aversive social, cultural, and evaluative situations
- Attention seeking behavior
- Reinforced school refusal
Get to the Root of the Issue
Assessment and Diagnostic Strategies
- Functional Analysis of School Refusal
- Categorical-dimensional approach
- Reinforcement contingencies
- Tools to identify co-morbid DSM-5® disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- ADHD
- ASD
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Depressive disorders
- Phobias
- Conduct disorders
- Learning disorders
- Cultural considerations
- The role of standardized assessments
- Critical questions to ask refusers and their parents
- Case Studies of complex school refusal cases
Get Refusers Back in School and Keep Them There
Select interventions based on assessment results
- Individual therapy to address co-morbidities
- Systematic desensitization strategies
- Exposure therapy: A step-by-step approach
- Video modeling, social stories, and more
- Cognitive therapy to challenge thoughts and beliefs about school
- Individualized educational supports to enable academic success
- Structured family therapy to address underlying stressors
- Systemic family therapy to unlock potential for change
- 3 powerful DBT techniques to change school mindset
- The role of meds:
- Tricyclics
- SSRI’s
- Beta blockers
- Benzodiazepines
- Creative therapies to address the functions of school refusal
- The role of rewards, positive attention, and more
- Case studies:
- “School Makes Me Want to Throw Up”
- “Everybody There Hates Me – Even the Teachers!”
- “Can’t I Stay at Home and Have You Teach Me?”
- What’s the Point of Being There?”
- Experiential learning: Create an individualized intervention plan
Not In This Alone
Getting School Personnel and Parents Involved
- Build on student interests and skills
- School escorts: When, who, what, and why
- 35 concrete tips for parents and teachers
- Multidisciplinary collaboration
- Virtual schooling – pros and cons for school avoiders
Target Audience
- Educators
- School Administrators
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Occupational Therapists
- School Psychologists
- School Nurses
Reviews
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