FRIENDS programmes

Domain II · Behavioural & cognitive · Paula Barrett · Australia

What it is

FRIENDS is a family of manualised, group-based cognitive-behavioural resilience programmes developed by Paula Barrett in Australia, originally for preventing and treating childhood anxiety and later broadened to depression prevention and social-emotional learning. It is a programme rather than a…

Format

• FRIENDS for Life session sequence (pre-2014 edition, verified) [Kösters et al. 2012, BMC Public Health 12:86, Table 1]. Topic labels are paraphrased; the 2014 editions keep the letters but move some content (e.g. physiological symptoms in session 2, emotional self-management in session 4, peer…
• Rapport building and introductions; group guidelines; normalising anxiety and individual differences in how people react.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• The mnemonic is the structure. Each letter names a skill taught in sequence (one letter per session or across two sessions). The wording has changed across editions; use the wording printed in the edition you are licensed for:
• Attention training (looking for positive aspects of difficult situations); challenging red thoughts. E: coping step plans (graded exposure up a fear hierarchy, goal setting, breaking problems into small steps).
• Set-up (before session 1): facilitator training, licence and materials, school agreement, parent information session 1, consent where required (selected/indicated groups need parental consent and participation).

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• poor attendance at boosters. Book them at the outset.
• children with significant ongoing symptoms (screen and refer; see 5.3).
• role models who are unhelpful (ask about their coping, not their status).
• relapse planning that is too abstract (use the child's real upcoming events).
• adult session-by-session content was not found. Follow the licensed adult manual.

Problems the guide addresses

• Disengaged or stuck children
• Disruption, peer conflict and "resistance" in a class group
• A child with clinical-level anxiety, depression or other disorder inside a universal group
• Overwhelm, disclosures and risk
• Non-adherence: home practice, books and parents
• Avoidance in step plans
• Rupture with the facilitator or group
• Fidelity drift and delivery problems
• Realistic threats: violence, bullying and adversity
• Learning disability and neurodiversity

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.