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Supporting Anxious Teenagers with Co-occurring Conditions
£40.00 GBP
Taxes included.
Course Overview
This course equips educators, mental health professionals, and youth workers with a practical understanding of adolescents who experience multiple co-occurring neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions. It explores why co-occurrence is common during adolescence, how anxiety often intensifies difficulties, and how overlapping symptoms can complicate understanding, diagnosis, and support.
The course emphasises person-centred, strengths-based practice and provides practical strategies to help professionals create safe, inclusive environments that promote emotional regulation, engagement, and participation. Optional exploration of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) demonstrates how structured human–animal interactions may complement existing support approaches when used ethically and appropriately.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this course, participants will understand what is meant by co-occurring conditions and why they frequently present together in adolescence. The course examines how overlapping symptoms can blur diagnostic boundaries, contribute to masking, and lead to patterns of escalation, particularly when anxiety is present. Participants will develop insight into how co-occurring conditions affect academic performance, social relationships, emotional wellbeing, and day-to-day functioning.
Participants will learn practical, tailored strategies to reduce anxiety and support engagement, including the use of low-demand communication, sensory adjustments, and environmental adaptations to prevent overload. The course highlights the importance of collaborative, person-centred planning, supporting participants to work effectively with adolescents, families, and multidisciplinary professionals. Reflective activities encourage participants to review current practice and develop actionable plans for improvement. The role of Animal-Assisted Interventions is also explored as a complementary approach to support emotional regulation and engagement, with careful consideration of suitability, ethics, and professional boundaries.
Who This Course Is For
This beginner-level course is suitable for teachers and educational support staff, social workers and youth workers, parents, carers, and foster carers, as well as therapists, counsellors, mental health practitioners, SEND specialists, and occupational therapists. It is also appropriate for professionals who are interested in integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions responsibly into their work.
Take the Next Step
Following this course, participants may choose to implement person-centred strategies within their current role, further their professional development in neurodiversity and mental health, explore advanced training in collaborative or multidisciplinary practice, or pursue additional learning in Animal-Assisted Interventions. Participants may also adapt course content into individual support plans, educational strategies, or therapeutic interventions.