Conferences and Workshops
(Click here for the 2019-2020 Professional Development Series PDF)
 

** Registration Update as of 11/3

This workshop has reached capacity. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please click on the wait list button and complete and submit the wait list request. ISACS staff will contact you if a space becomes available. We encourage you to add your name to the wait list as we often receive cancellations.  Please call the ISACS office at 312-750-1190 if you have any questions. 

When children and their parents are in the grips of anxiety and worry, it feels overwhelming and mysterious. Anxiety is a very persistent master; when it moves in, it takes over daily routines, learning, sleep and recreation. To make matters worse, the things that we do intuitively as adults to help and console our anxious children actually make the anxiety stronger. Schools, parents, pediatricians and many others in the helping professions unknowingly give families and children the “crutches” to diminish the anxiety in the short-term, but are actually supporting a strategy that teaches avoidance and leaves children less capable of handling life’s challenges. This leads, unfortunately, to additional problems. An untreated anxiety disorder in children is one of the top predictors of depression in adolescence and early adulthood.  The good news? Research shows that modifying certain cognitive and relational patterns makes a significant difference in whether or not children go on to become anxious or depressed adults. Identifying what parents and teachers can do proactively and retroactively--paying attention to how and what we teach children about risk, danger, uncertainty, and problem solving—is critical. This workshop will discuss seven concrete strategies schools can use with their students—strategies that not only help children and teens understand anxiety as it impacts them currently in school, but also serve to prevent the development of anxiety and depression later in life. Counselors, school nurses, and educators will learn to:

• interrupt the common patterns that support avoidance and worry
• develop active assignments that correct the common cognitive traps that bolster both anxiety and depression
• explain the difference between content-based and process-based interventions
• expand their toolbox to include playfulness, games, collaboration, active assignments
• create 504 and behavioral plans that are skill based rather than avoidance based

This workshop is for nurses, counselors, advisors and anyone who works with children and teens and wants better skills to manage worry and anxiety. All PK-12 are welcome.

Lynn Lyons is a psychotherapist, author, and speaker with a special interest in interrupting the generational patterns of anxiety in families. She is the co-author with Reid Wilson of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and the companion book for kids Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids. She is the author of Using Hypnosis with Children: Creating and Delivering Effective Interventions, which describes treatment approaches for children with anxiety, depression, sleep issues, and medical issues. Lyons has a private practice in Concord, New Hampshire and has been in practice for 27 years. For more information, visit www.playingwithanxiety.com.
 

Location of Workshop
The workshop will take place at the ISACS classroom at 55 West Wacker Drive, Suite 702, Chicago, IL. 

Directions, Parking & Public Transportation
The location is located in the heart of Chicago, with easy access to public transportation.

Click here for directions to the ISACS classroom including driving, parking and public transportation directions. Parking is available at several area garages. To secure discounted rates prior to your arrival in Chicago, visit www.parkwhiz.com. If possible, we suggest taking public transportation.

Air Travel
Both Midway and O'Hare airports are easily accessible to the ISACS classroom. Fly into Midway (on Southwest Airlines) or into O'Hare and take the "L" (Chicago's public transportation) and be at the ISACS classroom in less than an hour.  

​GO Airport Express (Share-a-Ride) Shuttle Service
ISACS has negotiated a special rate with GO Airport Express for ISACS members – 15% off the standard rates. Reservations MUST be made in advance and online to receive the discounted rate.  The standard rate per person to/from O’Hare is approximately $28 one-way; $49 round-trip. The standard rate per person to/from Midway is approximately $24 one-way; $40 round-trip. To receive the 15% discount off the standard rates, please click here for the Go Airport Express website to make a reservation in advance. A credit card is required and charged at the time of reservation. Airport walk-ups are not eligible for the discounted rate. Parties of two more reserving at the same time receive a discount. Please visit their website for more information.  

Hotel Accommodations
ISACS has secured discounted hotel accommodations at The Godfrey Hotel Chicago: a luxury boutique hotel with commanding southern views of the city skyline. To make a reservation, please contact The Godfrey Hotel Chicago at 312-649-2000 and make sure to identify yourself as a member with the Independent Schools Association of Central States (ISACS) and provide them with the Group Code: ISACS Lynn Lyons Workshop. Credit cards are required to book all room reservations. If you would prefer to book online please click here to make your reservation. For directions to The Godfrey Hotel Chicago, which also includes walking directions to the ISACS classroom, click here. 

If you are looking for another option or the room block is full, please take a moment to check out the other hotels which ISACS has partnered with in the Chicago area. The hotels are within walking distance of the ISACS classroom and, as a member of ISACS, you have access to the discounted rates all year long for your professional and personal travel. Click here to find out how to make a reservation at any of the hotels and select the option that meets your travel needs. We recommend booking your hotel room early. 

If you have any difficulties booking a room at The Godfrey Hotel Chicago or any other property, please contact the ISACS office at 312-750-1190.

Registration Fee

• $225 member fee 
• $275 non-member fee 
• The first person pays the full fee, each additional registrant from the same school receives a $20 discount
• Workshop includes coffee/tea, light breakfast, lunch and refreshments.
• Please review the Registration Confirmation information below

Registration Confirmation Communications from ISACS
Once registration for the workshop has been completed the following communications will be sent from ISACS:

• Once registration is complete, an email will automatically be sent to the contact person on the registration confirming that registration has been completed.
• Approximately three weeks prior to the workshop, ISACS will send a confirmation email to the registrant with details for the workshop.
• Approximately one week prior to the workshop, ISACS will send a final confirmation email to the registrant with details for the workshop.

If you do not receive these emails prior to arriving at a workshop, please call the ISACS office at 312-750-1190. It is possible your email address was entered incorrectly OR your registration was not completed.

Cancellation Policy
Cancellations for workshops held at the ISACS classroom must be received in writing to ISACS by emailing programinfo@isacs.org 10 business days prior to the event to receive a refund. ISACS will determine the refund amount, if any, on a per workshop basis and may be unable to determine the refund amount until the workshop’s conclusion. At any time, registration may be transferred to another member from the same school. If a workshop has a waitlist and ISACS can identify a replacement, a full refund will be provided. ISACS reserves the right to cancel the workshop for insufficient enrollment. In this case, participants will be notified and given a full refund.