What are the signs that should evoke school phobia?
After having multiplied the absences, the child is completely unable to return to class. He then refuses to leave his home, sometimes even to get up in the morning. He gives up his hobbies, no longer practices any sporting activity, no longer sees his friends and isolates himself more and more. Nothing to do with the “dry” lesson hours for a game of table football…
This behavior, a sign of real mental suffering, very quickly upsets the family balance. The parents, exhausted, tried different strategies to make him change his mind: gentleness, negotiation, verbal threats. Usually the child promises that he will return to school the following week or after the holidays, but he does not keep his word.
How does the consultation with the psychiatrist take place?
In general, the first appointment with the child psychiatrist, at the hospital or in a CMP (medico-psychological center) is made after a month of absence. Often on the advice of the head teacher, a guidance counselor or a school psychologist.
In consultation, the child may invoke the fear of a teacher in whom he does not trust or who makes him uncomfortable. He can also evoke a group of children who persecute him or make fun of him.
In general, he gives “surface” explanations. In reality, school phobia is often linked to an old fear of death and separation, sometimes reactivated by a death that has occurred in one’s entourage. It affects good students as well as bad ones. The only common point between these children is perhaps a difficulty in adapting outside the family cocoon.
How do you overcome the fear of school?
By first suggesting to the phobic student… not to go to class anymore: you cannot cure the fear of the dark by leaving a child in the dark! A medical certificate attests that he is unable to go to school. To continue your education, different formulas are possible. Registration at the Cned (National Center for Distance Education) can be accompanied by personalized tutoring. Thanks to this academic support, psychotherapy and parental support, 70% of students return to a normal course after a year or two. Nine times out of ten, school phobia does not reveal any serious personality disorder.
