What is School Refusal?

School refusal is the refusal to attend school due to emotional distress. School refusal differs from truancy in that children feel anxiety or fear towards school, whereas truant children generally have no feelings of fear towards school, often feeling angry or bored with it instead.

School Refusal is More Common Than You’d Think

Child-motivated refusal to attend school or remain in class an entire day affects 5% of students and up to 28% of youths at some point in their lives. School refusal covers a wide range of symptoms, diagnoses, somatic complaints and medication conditions. If left unaddressed school refusal can lead to serious short term problems such as distress, academic decline, alienation from peers, financial and legal consequences. Approximately 52% of adolescents with school refusal behavior are diagnosed with anxiety or depression at some point in their life if left unaddressed.

To avoid school-based stimuli that provoke negative feelings, the student stays home. Anxiety and depression can be triggered by stimuli that include teachers, peers, the bus, cafeteria, classroom and moving between classes.

Hypnosis Helps Reverse School Refusal

At Meridian Peak Hypnosis we work with children and teenagers of all ages to reverse school refusal. The automated emotions that come with school refusal are buried in the subconscious mind, making hypnosis an ideal method for change.

We work with your child to re-frame thoughts and words to include being in control at all times and having good self love and self esteem that promotes steady thought patterns and healthy emotions, making going to school easier.

Hypnosis is Proven More Effective Than Traditional Counseling

In a study in American Health Magazine, hypnosis and hypnotherapy have a 93% success rate compared with lower results from other methods of therapy which require far more sessions.  Click here to learn more about hypnosis and its high success rate.