Managing Stress in 8th Grade: CBT and Relaxation Techniques in Small Group Therapy

Abstract

Stress and anxiety are rampant in school-aged youth and a majority of stress is being experienced beginning as early as middle school. Although anxiety is prevalent in a school setting, there is little to no intervention in place that decreases stress and anxiety as well as minimizes how much class time students are losing. This is especially important in high academic performing school where is it difficult to implement efficient anxiety-reducing interventions without taking students away from academic time. This paper aims to look at the combination of two different forms of therapy: CBT and Relaxation techniques in a small group of 8th grade students over the course of 5 weeks and the effectiveness in which the intervention decreases stress and anxiety in these students over a short amount of time.