Child and youth anxiety are the most common problem experienced during the school years. We know that we can effectively treat and prevent childhood anxiety by using individual, group, and community-based interventions that involve parents, peers, and educators. Recent research has shown that children who experience anxiety often develop depression in adolescence. Therefore, it is important to disseminate anxiety Intervention strategies both for the prevention of anxiety and, in the longer term, of depression Problems. Australia is a leading country in the development, evaluation, and Implementation ofsuch strategies. This paper describes, in detail, a community-based Intervention program.

Anxiety disorders are the most common form of psychopathology reported by children and adolescents and significantly affect a child's ability to deal with normal developmental challenges. Fortunately, the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural interventions with anxmus children and adolescents has been clearly demonstrated. Most recently, however, treatment outcome research in this area has demonstrated the relative superiority of cognitive-behavioural interventions involving the family as well as the anxious child. Through the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Project at the University of Queensland, an integrated intervention involving a parent-focused component (the “Do as I Do” program) and a child-focused component (the “Facing your Fears” program) has been developed and is currently being evaluated. The present paper outlmes the type of research conducted within the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Project, the need for intervention in childhood anxiety, the treatment outcome data on which the development of this integrated intervention has been based, the content of each session in the intervention, and clinical observations and reflections made by clinicians involved in the administration of the intervention.

Increasing psychological resilience in young people can prevent the development of depression. The model of adolescent depression underlying the Resourceful Adolescent Project (RAP) suggests that adolescent depression and suicide result from a combination of some or all of three interrelating factors: (a) deficits in adolescent psychological wellbeing and coping resources; (b) escalating or chronic family conflict; and (c) depressive adolescent thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Each element of this model suggests discrete aspects of the overall prevention and early Intervention strategy used in RAP. This overview of the activities of RAP outlines the need for the project, the benefits of early Intervention in preventing adolescent depression, and the empirical and theoretical bases of the programs used in the project. The programs for adolescents and for their parents, their efficacy, and future directions of RAP are also described.

Schools are an important setting for identification of children with mental health Problems, for referral to specialist mental health Professionals, and for preventive interventions. To ensure optimal Provision of mental health interventions, it is necessary understand how school Systems already identify and support such students. Focus groups with 77 teachers, guidance officers, and school principals in southeast Queensland explored how these school personnel perceive their students’ mental health difficulties. The eight groups identified existing child mental health problems and were aware of a number of early signs of mental health problems. Participants expressed concerns that children with internalising problems were not receiving appropriate Services, and they identified several barriers to effective communication with families and within the education sector. There are implications for the development of evidence-based approaches in the primary and secondary prevention of mental health problems in children.

The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist (AEDP) has been in continuous publication for 15 years.This paper describes the history of this publication and presents some interesting facts and figures about the topics, the authors, and the Journal itself over the past 15 years. Some reflections and reminiscences add a personal flavour and Interpretation to the facts.