School Avoidance Group for Parents and Caregivers

This group is for parents or caregivers of school-aged youth who have had a hard time attending school due to anxiety for more than 1 month and less than 1 year. They may have frequent absences.

This is a group for parents and caregivers only. Families learn about the factors that lead to school avoidance and strategies to increase attendance.

This group is 9 weeks long. Each group session lasts 60 minutes and there is a 30-minute individual feedback session at the end of the 9 weeks. All sessions are for parents or caregivers only. During the sessions you will:

• Build collaborative problem-solving skills around school attendance
• Learn about what causes school avoidance and strategies for helping break the cycle of school absences
• Develop parent and caregiver coping strategies and techniques to help youth return to school

All sessions are by telehealth (video visits). Please join from a private, quiet location (not from a public space).

Parent group therapy sessions are billed with procedure code 90849 (multiple family group therapy).

Check with your insurance company to see if the visits are covered. We are in network with most insurance plans, including Medicaid and the Medicaid Managed Care Organization (MCO) plans. Contact the Psychiatry Insurance Processing team at 206-987-2164, option 8, with questions.

You will need a referral to our program. Ask your child’s primary care provider to send a referral to Seattle Children’s Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine for the School Avoidance Group. Once we receive your referral, we will let you know when we have an opening for a screening visit.

If you are a current patient, talk to your Seattle Children’s provider for a referral for this group. We will call you when there is a spot available.