Dr Sven Aldridge
cognitive-behavioural therapist
Structured; thoughts are not facts
The Worry
She freezes in exams she has prepared for. Leila learns what anxiety is and how evidence-based treatment works, and discovers that asking for help was the hardest exposure task of all.
Planned · not started yet
Psychology & mental health Living with uncertainty Competing advice School or campus Tense Hopeful
The premise
She freezes in exams she has prepared for. Leila learns what anxiety is and how evidence-based treatment works, and discovers that asking for help was the hardest exposure task of all.
The protagonist
Leila Yilmaz-Brooks — University student whose exam anxiety is getting worse
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Maureen Eriksen
student-wellbeing officer
Practical; help exists, use it
Dr Rajiv Menon
psychiatrist
Careful; severe anxiety deserves medical care
How the story moves
One academic year to finals; a relapse in the spring tests her new skills, and she sits her exams with support she once refused to ask for.
What readers take away
- The anxiety response
- The cognitive-behavioural model
- Exposure principles
- Sleep and anxiety
- Avoidance and safety behaviours
- University support services
- When medication may help
- Relapse prevention
- Use graded exposure for exams
- Recognise panic attacks
- Practise grounding techniques
- Use self-help apps critically
The books
- 1Freezing Planned
- 2Help Planned
- 3Exposure Planned
- 4Finals Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.