30-Minute Groups: Anxiety: Calming the Mind, Challenging Thoughts, and Building Confidence

Are you looking for a tool to help your students learn how to understand and manage anxiety?

This workbook will do that and more. Teach ASCA-aligned skills in thirty-minute lessons for small group or classroom instruction. Everything you need, with minimal prep time and no extra materials required!

Flexible and easily adaptable for classroom and small group settings, the 30-Minute Groups: Anxiety workbook is rooted in a research-backed commitment to help children become more confident, steady, and determined to grow and thrive in school, work, and life.

Inside, you’ll find:

• 10 Complete Lessons with ASCA Standards
• Permission and Completion Letters to send to caregivers
• Attendance Logs
• Pre-and Post-Surveys to measure the success of the programming
• Results Template to share with interested parties

Topics include understanding anxiety, the 4 F’s (fight, flight, freeze, and fawn), the brain science of anxiety, coping skills, and more. The lessons and questions in this thoughtfully crafted resource are designed to help students get curious about anxiety and learn tips and techniques they can incorporate into their thoughts, words, and behaviors that allow them to feel safe in their bodies and navigate through worry.

This workbook’s design allows students to connect with characters from each lesson’s story, while also having fun and building community with their peers. Use the 30-Minute Groups: Anxiety workbook to help provide a strong foundation for students to become more connected and resilient learners!

Dr. Leigh Bagwell is a member of the School Counseling Core Faculty in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Capella University. Bagwell joined Capella in the spring of 2022 shortly after completing her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Tennessee. She began her career as an elementary and middle school counselor before moving to leadership and supervisory roles in school counseling for preK-12 education in both urban and suburban school districts then ultimately serving as the Director of School Counseling Services for the Tennessee Department of Education. As a school counseling educator and leader, her mission is to provide school counselors and administrators with the training and resources needed to deliver high quality, student driven, data informed comprehensive school counseling programs to all students. She believes when school counselors and school leaders work together to all students have access to the opportunities and supports they need to successfully move through their elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education into their chosen career.

In addition to her work in Tennessee, Bagwell partners with school counselors and school counseling leaders throughout the country using her experiences and knowledge to build their capacity to more effectively serve students. She has authored multiple books in the 15-Minute Focus Series - Anxiety: Worry, Stress, and Fear and an accompanying workbook, along with Self-Harm and Self-Injury: When Emotional Pain Becomes Physical, and has served as a consultant on several SEL children’s books. She has conducted research on mental health supports for students and families and is a consultant with an international organization developing tools and materials that help school counselors deliver effective school counseling programs to all students. Dr. Bagwell’s hope is to equip and empower school counselors to use their unique knowledge and skills to advocate and support all students to reach their potential and achieve their dreams.