'Overcoming Anxiety' group therapy programme for young people

Priory Hospital Chelmsford is pleased to offer a new outpatient therapy group, which has been specifically designed to help young people to overcome anxiety.

Our ‘overcoming anxiety’ group is a six-week anxiety therapy programme, which will commence on Wednesday 3rd October 2018. The programme is dedicated to young people between the ages of 13 and 16 years old, who need support to:

• Understand their anxiety
• Reduce their anxiety symptoms, including any self-harming behaviours
• Learn effective coping mechanisms to help them to manage their condition in their daily lives

What does the programme involve?

The programme provides:

• Support for young people to manage their anxiety, and increase their confidence and self-worth
• A person-centred approach, tailored to the individual ages and needs of the young people
• The opportunity for young people to meet and learn from other individuals who are experiencing the same challenges
• A range of activities, focused on demonstrating how anxiety coping skills can be applied in real life situations
• A structured and highly interactive approach, with weekly homework assignments to help young people to continue on their learning and recovery journeys outside the therapy sessions

The anxiety programme has a ‘closed group’ format, meaning that all members begin the group at the same time, in order to provide continuity and stability for participants. The groups will be mixed gender, with a maximum of 8-10 participants, and each of the six therapy sessions will last for 90 minutes.

Programme timetable

The programme will take place every Wednesday evening between 5.30-7.00pm, for six consecutive weeks. The group will cover the following topics:

• Week 1: Introduction – what is anxiety and why do we have it?
• Week 2: Anxiety and behaviour
• Week 3: Anxiety and thoughts
• Week 4: Challenging anxious thoughts
• Week 5: Getting rid of your worries
• Week 6: Final session – relapse prevention

Prices, funding and more information

Young people wishing to access the anxiety therapy group will need to receive an initial assessment with a consultant psychiatrist, in order to confirm a diagnosis of anxiety, and assess their suitability for the programme. These initial assessments usually cost around £350.00, but may vary depending on the chosen consultant psychiatrist. Once on the programme, each of the six therapy sessions costs £165.00.

The Priory Group is a registered and approved provider for all of the UK’s leading private medical insurers, including Bupa, Vitality, Aviva, Cigna, WPA and AXA PPP. Patients wishing to access the group through their private medical insurer should check their policy details with their provider.

For further information on the programme, our expert team, and the hospital environment, please download our overcoming anxiety therapy group leaflet.