CBPT for School Refusal
What you will be able to do
About this course
School refusal is not simply defiance — it reflects deep emotional distress, from morning tantrums to chronic absenteeism, and if unaddressed can disrupt emotional development and academic progress. This course shows how CBPT offers a developmentally sensitive, play-based approach to help children understand and manage their fears, build coping skills and gradually return to school.
You’ll learn to assess the underlying functions of school refusal, decide when CBPT is the right fit, and involve parents (PRIDE skills) and schools to extend gains beyond the playroom — including adaptations for older children and adolescents.
Course objectives
- Recognize the profiles of school refusal and distinguish them from truancy
- Apply CBPT techniques — psychoeducation, coping skills, exposure hierarchies
- Collaborate with parents and educators across home and school settings
- Adapt CBPT for older children and adolescents
- Conduct case conceptualizations to tailor interventions to each profile
- Use playful tools (CBT triangle, worry monster, thought bubbles) to externalize anxiety
Course requirements
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Clinical Social Workers
- Licensed Professional Counselors
- Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists
- Mental Health Clinical Nurse Practitioners
The delivery of the certificate of attestation at the conclusion of the course will be tied to the evaluation of participants’ requirements. In the absence of the requirements, the course hours will not be certified.
Curriculum · 2 lessons + Learning Test · 1h 39min
Instructor
Frequently asked questions
What does the CBPT for School Refusal course cover?
How to recognize the profiles of school refusal and tell them apart from truancy, how to assess the function of the refusal, when CBPT is the right fit, and how to apply psychoeducation, coping skills and exposure hierarchies so the child can gradually return to school. Adaptations for older children and adolescents are included.
Who teaches the course?
Samantha Martin, a Clinical Psychology graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University who works on the application of CBPT to school refusal, under the scientific direction of Susan M. Knell.
How are parents and schools involved?
The course shows how to work with parents through PRIDE skills and how to collaborate with educators, so that gains made in the playroom carry over to mornings at home and to the school day.
How long is the course and what does it include?
Two lessons (57 and 42 minutes) plus a learning test, for a total of 1 hour 39 minutes. The course is self-paced with lifetime access, costs $99 plus VAT, and includes a certificate of attestation issued by the CBPT Research Center.
Which playful tools are used to externalize anxiety in school refusal?
The CBT triangle, the worry monster and thought bubbles, used to help the child see the link between situations, thoughts, feelings and behavior and to talk about the fear from a safe distance.
Who this course is for
Psychologists and psychotherapists · Psychiatrists · Clinical and licensed independent social workers · Licensed professional counselors · Marriage and family therapists · Mental health clinical nurse practitioners.
A certificate of attendance is issued on completion, tied to the final learning test.