Abstract

Children's Choice Winner at the School Library Association's Information Book Awards 2014

The Anxiety Gremlin loves one thing - to feed on your anxiety! But watch out, as the fuller he gets, the more anxious you get! How can you stop him? Starve him of his favourite food - your anxiety - and he'll shrink and shrivel away.

Starving the Anxiety Gremlin is a unique and award-winning resource to help young people understand different types of anxiety and how to manage them, including panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety, generalised anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. Based on cognitive behavioural principles that link thoughts, feelings and behaviours, the techniques described help young people to understand why they get anxious and how they can 'starve' their anxiety gremlin in order to manage their anxiety.

This engaging workbook uses fun activities and real life stories, and can be used by young people aged 10+ on their own or with a parent or practitioner. It is also an ideal anxiety management resource for those working with young people, including mental health practitioners, social workers, education sector staff and youth workers.

Starving the Anxiety Gremlin is a well-written comprehensive workbook that helps readers identify the sources of their anxiety and learn effective ways of coping. The activities are fun, engaging, and practical. This book is a recommended read for any teen wanting to break free from anxiety.
Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC, professional school counselor and author of The Anger Workbook for Teens and co-author of The Bullying Workbook for Teens
This workbook is an excellent resource for young people suffering from anxiety... The author, Kate Collins-Donnelly, has an extensive background in therapy and counselling and she demonstrates her comprehensive knowledge in this book... Through a series of questionnaires and exercises, the reader is able to explore and understand their own experiences with the gremlin so as to more efficiently deal with it... I really liked about this book was the use of pictures, games and questionnaires to keep the information fresh and easy to digest. The information has great practical application in real life and I found myself really engaging with the material and filing away the knowledge should a gremlin take up residence in my life!
mentalhealth.org.nz
Fun activities, including quizzes, work sheets, questionnaires, crosswords, and word searches.... presented in an attractive format in order to interest and engage children aged 10+..... These books would be useful for professionals who are already working with children, but would like to introduce a more activity based approach or extend the range of materials which they already use.
Pat Havell, Counsellor and supervisor
ACPNL Magazine
The book helps young people to understand the different types of anxiety, how to manage them and 'starve' the anxiety gremlin. Activities and worksheets are provided throughout the book offering different creative strategies, and the book would also be very beneficial to use as an adjunct to small group discussions. Written in a very clear and accessible manner, it allows the reader to focus on specific sections rather than having to work through the book from cover to cover. The book is aimed primarily for young people to work through independently, or with adult support, but would also be a helpful resource for many professionals working with children and young people who may be experiencing anxiety.
Youth in Mind
Kate Collins-Donnelly has worked as a therapist, psychologist, criminologist and anger management consultant based in the UK for many years. She presently runs a successful independent consultancy practice which provides cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling, coaching and training, and is head of the Psychological and Criminological Research Division. She is the author of Starving the Anger Gremlin, Starving the Anxiety Gremlin and Starving the Stress Gremlin.
Collins-Donnelly provides three CBT workbooks targeting stress, anxiety and anger. A great feature of these books is that they are geared towards teens. Although the book itself states it is for youth aged 10+, the book is most appropriate for older teens. The gremlin character is accessible for youth, without being too cute and babyish for this age group. The extensive use of visuals and repetition of topics and concepts makes this series a good fit for youth on the spectrum. The workbooks encourage writing and drawing, and youth who enjoy and have strength in reading will be able to benefit... Overall, these workbooks serve as a great introduction to cognitive behavioral therapy and can serve as a great adjunct to in-person psychotheraphy. Teens are taught to identify the sources of their stress, anger, and anxiety as well as the thoughts that accompany these feelings. "Starving the gremlin" serves as a great metaphor for changing your thoughts to change your behavior.
On The Spectrum Magazine
The book is enormously practical, using quizzes, crosswords and wordseraches to encourage readers to interact and consolidate their learning, and giving plenty of opportunity to record thought, discoveries and progress. It also uses many examples from the experience of other worried youngsters, which bring added clarity to theory and practice... I'm convinced that this book will offer great help to young sufferers from anxiety, especially when supported in using it. I think it would be a great asset to therapists and parents of anxious youngsters, and it also provides a very useful resource for teachers dealing in any pastoral capacity with anxious youngsters, because it offers an excellent, accessible and straightforward introduction to using CBT techniques with young people.
BACP Children & Young People