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FRIENDS for Life helps children and teenagers cope with feelings of fear, worry, and depression by building resilience and self-esteem and teaching cognitive and emotional skills in a simple, well-structured format.
Used in schools and clinics throughout the world, FRIENDS is the only childhood anxiety prevention program acknowledged by the World Health Organization for its 12 years of comprehensive evaluation and practice.
FRIENDS has proved effective for up to 6 years after intial exposure.
Worldwide, FRIENDS is being used in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, The United States, Mexico, South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Finland, Norway, The United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. It is also in the process of being translated into Russian and Arabic. For more information about FRIENDS, go to www.friendsinfo.net
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A Research Report
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In the report, Preventing and Treating Anxiety Disorders in Children and Youth (June 2002) prepared by The Children's Mental Health Policy Research Program at the University of British Columbia, it stated,
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Research suggests that there is good evidence to support new public policy
investments in both preventing and treating anxiety disorders in children. Prevention
is preferable given the high distress and impairment associated with anxiety disorders.
Our review of the literature revealed a cognitive-behavioural program, FRIENDS, that
appears to be efficacious across the entire spectrum, as a universal prevention
program, as a targeted prevention program and as a treatment."
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Anxiety Disorders in Children and Youth
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Today, children and youth are more likely to develop a mental health disorder than 20 years ago and anxiety disorders are the most common form. Anxiety significantly interferes with a child's ability to handle a wide variety of everyday activities, including interpersonal relationships, social competence, peer relations and school adjustment.
If left untreated, childhood anxiety may develop over the years into a chronic adult anxiety disorder/s or, in some cases, clinical depression that may lead to suicidal thoughts.
It is therefore crucial that anxiety prevention begins early, and that mental health and education professionals are equipped with the resources to help children and their
families develop effective strategies to deal with worry, stress and change.
FRIENDS is a world leading evidence-based early intervention and prevention
program designed to do just that. The FRIENDS program is both effective and sustainable, and its benefits carry forward for many years. Used in schools, FRIENDS avoids continual drains on limited funds and resources and actively encourages sound educational values and learning principles.
Up to 80% of children showing signs of an anxiety disorder no longer display that disorder after completing the program and this effect has been confirmed up to 6 years later. Children who participate in the program and are not symptomatic also benefit and display higher rates of self-esteem, lower rates of worry, and a better ability to solve their own problems.
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Featured on CTV
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They may not have bills to pay or jobs to worry about, but children are stressed all the same.
Which is why the English Montreal School Board has begun a pilot project in two of its elementary schools to teach children how to cope with feelings of fear, worry and depression.
The "Friends for Life program has already been tested in 11 countries.
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FRIENDS For Life Program throughout BC
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The FRIENDS program is a school-based early intervention and prevention program, proven to be effective in building resilience and reducing the risk of anxiety disorders in children. It teaches children how to cope with fears and worries and equips them with tools to help manage difficult situations, now and later in life. The FRIENDS program in British Columbia is sponsored by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, school districts, independent schools and First Nations Schools Association. The FRIENDS program is endorsed by the Ministry of Education as a recommended learning resource and fits within the Health & Career Education K-7 curriculum.
In support of the Child and Youth Mental Health Plan for BC, Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), FRIENDS was launched universally in BC elementary schools in 2004. FRIENDS BC expanded program delivery in 2008/09 with the addition of the FRIENDS For Life Youth Program, now available to grade 7 students throughout B.C. Fun FRIENDS, an early years version of FRIENDS targeting young children ages 4 – 7, was piloted in 2009/10 in 7 school districts across B.C. The goal of the FRIENDS implementation in BC schools is to reach as many students as possible, to provide them with life skills that will help them cope with worries and stress, by strengthening resiliency while reducing their risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
FRIENDS has been implemented in over 95% of BC school districts, and many independent schools and First Nations schools province-wide. Over 3000 educators have been trained to deliver FRIENDS in BC schools and over 70 parent workshops have been delivered, educating parents and caregivers about the FRIENDS program and child anxiety.
To read how FRIENDS is being used in BC select the links below:
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From the World Health Organization
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"
A promising prevention of anxiety programme for children from 7 to 16 years of age is
the FRIENDS programme, widely used in schools, health centres and hospitals. Based on an
effective treatment programme for anxiety disorders, it has been translated into a
prevention format and is available in universal, selective and indicated prevention
versions."
Prevention of Mental Disorders: Effective Interventions and Policy Options, pp. 42-43, WHO, 2004.
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Featured in TIME Magazine
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With Help From Friends
A pioneering Australian program aims to calm anxious kids before they become troubled teens
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