How should you work through our program? LUNA was tested as a 12-week program, with families completing one module per week, though we encourage you to go at your own pace as you learn about this different information. For each module,
- You will read, watch videos, and complete caregiver activities.
- Your child will read and watch videos (with or without your help depending on their learning style, reading level, and your preference). We recommend you read along for the first couple weeks to help you decide whether you will do them together with your child or if they will do them alone. We recommend most families complete activities together.
- You and your child will work together to do activities to learn and practice anxiety management skills, which will mostly focus on building confidence and facing fears. Your child will do therapy “practice” for the following week (sometimes alone, sometimes together with you). You will complete the worksheets and activities with the PDF files included in the modules. You can either print out these PDF files or fill them out electronically.
Modules 1-7 apply to any child struggling with anxiety, and you should complete them in order. Modules 8-11 are optional modules focusing on specific topics that will be helpful to some but not all families. For these optional modules, you can choose which ones you want to complete and skip over any that you don’t feel are relevant to your family. Module 12 should be completed last, as it asks you to reflect on you and your child’s progress through the program and plan for the future.
A Note on Therapy “Homework”
LUNA involves different activities including worksheets and homework. Sometimes, your child can get overwhelmed by the word “homework” or by the idea that they need to complete something in a set amount of time. If this is the case, feel free to come up with a new name for it. You can call it “training” or “missions” (so it matches our space theme) or just “activities” or “practice.” No matter what you call it, you will get the most out of LUNA if you do more homework. As we said before, LUNA requires time and effort. If you and your child follow your weekly schedule and complete the homework, you will have the best chance of seeing improvement in your child’s anxiety. However, we also understand that life happens. Some weeks can be busier than other weeks. While we encourage you to be flexible around your schedule, we also strongly recommend that you try your best to do the activities and homework every week.
Getting your child on board
Going through LUNA requires a team effort, so it is important that your child is on board and willing to put in the work! Your child may or may not understand what anxiety is, and may not understand why it is important that they work to overcome their fears. When introducing LUNA, you should let your child know that this program is to help them learn how to manage their fears and how to be brave when they feel scared, worried, or anxious. Tell them that you will work together each week on the computer and do activities where they will slowly learn how to face their fears. Emphasize that you will be working as a team, so they will have your support the entire time, and you will be learning too.
