Overcoming School Avoidance (OAS)

What causes school avoidance?

There's rarely a single cause. Anxiety — both performance anxiety and social anxiety — is usually the main driver, but before we jump to that, we always rule out other explanations first: bullying, family violence (a student staying home to protect a parent, for instance), or an underlying mental health issue like depression.

What actually works for anxiety?

Anxiety shows up in two ways: physically (that knot in the stomach) and mentally (thoughts like “everyone's judging me”). Good interventions deal with the physical symptoms first. The evidence points to a combination of CBT and desensitisation as the most effective approach — and that's exactly what our Overcoming School Avoidance (OSA) program is built on.

Why train teachers and wellbeing staff to deliver it, rather than clinicians?

Because students often aren't keen to see a mental health professional — but they already trust their teachers and wellbeing staff. That existing relationship is the perfect foundation for delivering a program like OSA, under the supervision of a registered psychologist.

The program: OSA runs over two days (12 contact hours), combining online and in-person learning.