School refusal

[Carmen]

Hi,
My 14 year old has been dealing with anxiety and depression. She is on counselling, on medication and after severe panic attacks and anxiety going to a public high school I tried homeschooling and now she is in distance education.
She keeps telling me she hates school, hates the teachers and hates doing anything. She is refusing more often than not to go to school. I have tried all i can, by now I find myself getting more and more frustrated and worried that she will do herself no favours by refusing to go. I have tried to make things better for her but she gets angry at me for expecting her to do anything.
I don’t know what to do any more.

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @Carmen, we are so sorry to hear about how much your daughter is struggling right now. It sounds like you have tried many different ways to help her. It is so great to hear that she has numerous avenues of support for when things get tough. I imagine it is so difficult for you to be in a position where you feel stuck and are not sure what to do next. I was wondering if you have ever had a joint session with her counsellor? Would this be appropriate? Have they made any suggestions about school refusal? We have an article here which has some tips you might not have tried.

Supporting another person can be tough, particularly if things feel a bit stuck. We don't blame you for feeling frustrated or a little lost right now. Do you have your own support to help you navigate this journey? Sometimes it can help to have a place to vent. 

[Carmen]

Thank you for your reply! I join all psychologist sessions with my daughter as she wants me to be there. We had an agreement that I will talk to the teachers and year adviser to solve a few issues that had come up. But once we were home from the session my daughter insisted she still does not want to go to school.
I do have a Counsellor myself and it has been good to talk to her. When it comes down to daily life it is still just me and her going through everything. I can only hope that it gets better.
Thank you for your link, I will have a look at it now