Information for professionals

Any professional wishing to deliver any of the suite of the Cool Kids Anxiety Programs (Cool Little Kids, Cool Kids, Chilled, Cool Kids Autism Spectrum Adaptation) must meet these qualification requirements:

• four-year undergraduate or two-year postgraduate degree in health (psychology, counselling, social work, occupational therapy) or education AND
• training in cognitive-behavioural therapy (dedicated postgraduate subject, introductory workshop or online training from recognised provider).

For those who have not completed a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) course, the following are suggested online options:

• CBT Essentials by APT
• CBT by OCTC (the basic modules)
• Principles and Practice of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy by APS
• Essentials of CBT: The Beck Approach by Beck.

If you don’t meet the criteria and would like to run the program, you are welcome to make a case by outlining your qualifications and experience and a determination about suitability will be made on a case-by-case basis. Please email ehc.training@mq.edu.au.

To become an accredited provider, you must first undertake training and then complete a series of assessments.

You can complete the training online. Training covers:

• the nature of anxiety in children and teens
• effective assessment of anxiety
• the research basis of Cool Kids
• the core Cool Kids skills of psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, exposure and anxiety friendly parenting strategies
• the optional Cool Kids skills such as relaxation and problem solving.

e-Training

Our eTraining course option offers the opportunity to work at your own pace.

The eTraining consists of 12 modules in total which you can start, pause or stop at any time. There is approximately five to six hours of video and application activities to complete.

Accreditation assessment tasks

Accreditation requires professionals to demonstrate their ability and skill through a series of assessment tasks. This takes approximately six hours and includes completing set practice activities and receiving feedback.

The assessment tasks and approximate timings include:

• Multiple choice quiz – 30 minutes. Feedback is automated and immediate.
• Two written case studies (set 1) with questions – two hours. Feedback takes approximately two weeks to receive.
• Review of feedback focused on case studies set 1 – one hour. Access to a 50-minute recorded supervision session with accompanying personalised written feedback on the case studies.
• Another two case studies (set 2) with questions – two hours. Feedback takes approximately two weeks to receive.

Benefits of accreditation

Those who successfully attain accreditation will:

• receive access to our Accredited Provider website which includes resources, webinars and research updates on our Cool Kids work
• receive an accreditation logo and flyers to use in their marketing
• have their details will be added to a searchable database of accredited providers, that allows members of the general public to find a Cool Kids Accredited Provider in their area.
• be able to participate in drop-in supervision sessions with access to experienced Cool Kids supervisors who can answer questions about implementing the program.

Accreditation is for an individual, not an organisation. Accreditation is valid for five years and allows the professional to promote themselves as a Cool Kids Accredited Provider.

Currently all training is via our eTraining and Accreditation course. We do not have any face-to-face workshops scheduled.

Enrol in both the eTraining and accreditation components if you are new to Cool Kids.

If you have previously participated in a Face-to-Face Cool Kids workshop, enrol in the accreditation course only (you will be asked for verification as part of the enrolment process).

You will have 12 months access to the Cool Kids eTraining and Accreditation system.

You can complete the training course component as a stand-alone course if you want to learn about assessment and treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents. However, note that in completing just the training you are not permitted to deliver the program.

Discounts

We offer a discount if you are:

• from a not-for-profit/community organisation that has a large number of employees (ie 15 or more staff) who enrol concurrently
• a mental health professional in a developing country
• a full-time student.

The discounted fee is $700 per head for training and accreditation, and a resource kit for each trainee. This does not include the cost of workbook sets for individual clients which you will be required to purchase separately.

Registration

Register to complete the eTraining and/or accreditation course.

After reading through the information, select the ‘Register now’ button for the option that suits your requirements.

Questions

If you have any questions about the Cool Kids training and accreditation process, contact ehc.training@mq.edu.au for clarification.

When you purchase the Cool Kids Anxiety Program materials either via our Accreditation Process or via our product shop, you are entering into a licensing agreement with Macquarie University. As part of the product purchasing process you must agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the licensing agreement.

Read the licensing agreement carefully to understand the terms and conditions you are agreeing to when using the program.

Cool Kids Materials

To run the Cool Kids standard program you will require a therapist kit and each family will require either a child or teen workbook and a parent workbook.

The therapist kit includes:

• the 2nd Edition Cool Kids therapist manual
• one copy of the Cool Kids Chilled parent workbook
• one copy of the Cool Kids child workbook
• one copy of the Chilled teen workbook.

The 2nd Edition therapist manual covers options suited to clinical, school and community settings and covers both child and teen clients. A therapist kit is supplied as part of the accreditation process.

Additional workbook sets can be purchased either as:

• a Cool Kids workbook set (for ages 7 to 12 years), or
• a Chilled workbook set (for ages 12 to 17 years).

With each set including a copy of the 2nd Edition parent workbook that covers both child and teen clients.

Photocopying of material is not permitted. Key practice worksheets are available to download.

Where to purchase

Visit our online shop to purchase Cool Kids Anxiety Program materials.

For North America customers (Canada and USA), visit Caversham Booksellers (located in Canada).

For New Zealand customers, visit Excel Digital (located in Wellington) to order your required materials.

Accredited Providers who are a supervisor at a university psychology training clinic can access the Cool Kids eTraining for their students at no cost. These students can then run the Cool Kids program with clients at the university clinic under the direct supervision of the Accredited Provider.

If there is more than one supervisor involved in overseeing students running the Cool Kids Anxiety Program, they must all be trained and accredited. We do not accredit organisations, only individuals.

University clinics will need to purchase sufficient therapist kits for their students to use while on placement and workbook sets for each client family. Photocopying of the materials is strictly prohibited.

Contact coolkids.accreditation@mq.edu.au for more details.

We estimate that completion of eTraining takes six hours and completion of the accreditation process is a further six hours. Claiming of CPD hours is at the discretion of the participant and their interpretation of their professional body’s requirements.

Claiming CPD hours with NESA

Contact the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) directly on +61 (2) 9367 8111 should you wish to self-identify any of the professional development courses we offer through the Emotional Health Clinic as CPD hours.

See information regarding the current changes to NESA.

Claiming CPD hours with AHPRA

The Emotional Health Clinic does not report CPD hours achieved directly to the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA), however, you may be able to self-identify your CPD hours from completing the Cool Kids courses.

Contact AHPRA directly on 1300 419 495

I completed an in-person workshop, do I need accreditation?

If you’ve completed training in the past, and meet our prerequisite criteria for accreditation, you should enrol in the accreditation-only course.

• You will be asked for evidence of your prior training during enrolment.
• Should you be unable to locate this information, email ehc.training@mq.edu.au for further assistance.
• You will be provided with free access to the eTraining course to help refresh your past training and ensure that you have the most up-to-date training we offer.

If you haven’t undertaken any Cool Kids training you must complete both training and accreditation. Note: If you aren’t accredited, you should not run the program until you are.

Why do I need to be accredited?

The purpose of training and accreditation is to ensure clients participating in the Cool Kids Anxiety Program are receiving treatment the way it is intended and the practitioner delivering the program has met a suitable standard of knowledge to ensure the ongoing quality of the program.

Importantly, training and accreditation is also about supporting therapists to feel confident when they first implement Cool Kids and to provide an avenue where therapists can seek advice and support when working with Cool Kids clients.

I have an assistant helping me to run a Cool Kids group, do they need to be accredited?

If you have an assistant in your group whose role is limited to supporting children to participate in the group (such as helping them write answers, supervising break times, being an audience during in-session exposure) and that person is not taking clinical responsibility or presenting session content, they do not need to be accredited.

It can be helpful for group assistants to have completed the eTraining so that they are familiar with the content of the program.

What do I need to do to run Cool Little Kids or Cool Kids Autism?

After you complete accreditation in the standard Cool Kids program you will have the option to enrol in add-on modules for our additional programs.

• In 2021 we introduced our Cool Little Kids online professional training and accreditation process. This involves a short 1.5 hours of additional modules that outline the specific nuances of implementing the Cool Little Kids parenting program. A multi-choice assessment must be passed to extend accreditation to the Cool Little Kids program.
• In 2024 an add-on training and accreditation course will be introduced for the Cool Kids Autism Spectrum Program. We estimate that this will be a 3-hour course and will have a short assessment focused on the content presented.

It is not possible to complete training or accreditation in either of these additional programs without first training in the standard program.

Is it possible to review the program before purchasing?

We can supply sample content from the program on request. Please contact ehc.products@mq.edu.au to request sample pages from the relevant materials.

In 2022 we launched the Study Without Stress eTraining course to enable psychologists, school counsellors and teachers in a wellbeing/mental health support role (eg pastoral care teacher), and other mental health workers with relevant qualifications and experience to implement the Study Without Stress program within a school environment or in a clinical setting.

The eTraining course takes approximately four hours to complete and may contribute to continuing professional development hours for health and education professionals. Check eligibility with your professional bodies requirements.

The current cost of the SWoS eTraining is $295 including a copy of the facilitator manual and the student workbook. Upon successful completion of the final quiz, you will receive a certificate of achievement and will be granted a licence to deliver the Program.

If you are an existing Cool Kids Accredited Provider, we will also add the SWoS offering to your information in our Find A Provider site to recognise your training in this program.

For more information, contact ehc.training@mq.edu.au.

We can provide a two-hour workshop for students at your school providing them with an introduction to the key strategies in the Study Without Stress program.

The workshop is interactive and students will learn:

• why and how the body reacts to stress
• how unhelpful thinking, perfectionism and procrastination may be sabotaging study
• the importance of social and physical pursuits to maintain balance.

By the end of the workshop, students will have the tools to:

• change the way they view school and exam stress
• tips to deal with work avoidance and unrealistic expectations
• tips for tackling exam anxiety.

Fees apply. For more information, contact ehc.training@mq.edu.au.

The Study Without Stress and Cool Kids programs have been included on the Victorian State Government Department of Education Schools Mental Health Menu, providing schools with opportunities to purchase evidence-based programs and the required training for professionals in delivering the evidence-based program to promote student mental health and wellbeing.

Following a rigorous evaluation process, Cool Kids and the Study Without Stress programs have been listed as having positive mental health promotion at the forefront given the extensive evidence obtained through quality research, results of which support the efficacy of the program.

Visit the School Operations Guide (education log in required) to learn how to:

• access the training for your school professional
• secure the program materials through the $217.8 million investment from the Victorian government.

The Cool Kids Anxiety Program is included within the New South Wales Department of Education Student Wellbeing External Programs Catalogue. The full catalogue lives on the department's intranet which is a staff-only access portal.

All programs in the Student Wellbeing external programs catalogue have been assessed against quality standards to provide proven, positive outcomes for students. In order to be included, the programs have had to meet a range of criteria:

• they need to be evidence-based, relevant and inclusive
• aligning to the current curriculum and key departmental documents.

Launched in 2022, the Student Wellbeing external programs catalogue currently includes over 60 quality assured programs, and we are proud of the inclusion of the Cool Kids Anxiety Program.

Please check with your school regarding access to training in the Cool Kids Anxiety Program as supported by this catalogue.