Category: Food Allergy Worksheets

Evidence-Based Allergy Behavioral Health Resources

2/7/2023

It's so easy to find a resource website, such as this one, yet not really take the time to explore all it has to offer. After all, life is busy and many are trying to limit how much time is spent online anyhow.

Hopefully this post helps simplify that exploration process for you by highlighting a few key resources available here at The Food Allergy Counselor (The FAC) beyond the FAC Directory! And, make sure to read this whole post so you get to the exciting announcement!

First, What Makes The FAC Unique?

The FAC is an allergy behavioral health and psychosocial resource hub offering evidence-based content developed and curated by licensed clinical professional counselor and founder, Tamara Hubbard. As an allied health member of both the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Tamara is a well-recognized and respected behavioral healthcare clinician in this field.

Why is this important to mention? Because when looking online for reputable allergy resources, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the number of websites available covering allergies. However, you can be assured that the content and resources offered here at The FAC are based on clinical behavioral healthcare and allergy/immunology best practices, and are aimed at helping you find your "just right" balance between the overwhelm and the quality of life you want, even with allergic diseases!

Allergy Behavioral Health
& Psychosocial Resource Section

If you've not yet checked out The FAC's Psychosocial Resource section, you're missing out on an incredibly thorough list of allergy-specific psychosocial content.

Broken down by topics, you'll find links to research, articles, and other related content to help enrich your quality of life, adjust your approach to life with allergies, or simplify things. This section is constantly expanding, so be sure to check back from time-to-time!

Here's a snippet of topics this section offers content on:

Information for behavioral healthcare providers working in allergy
Allergy testing anxiety resources
School, social and bullying resources
Parenting, child, and teen-specific resources
Anxiety & mindfulness tools also useful for allergy anxiety
Quality of life research links
Oral immunotherapy and psychosocial impacts research links
Research on addressing food allergy anxiety in the allergist's office

Allergic Disease Counseling Niche Information

Wondering what the Allergic Disease Counseling niche actually is? Maybe you're a therapist who is curious about working in this niche. Or maybe you're an allergy practice looking to learn more about the benefits of incorporating allergy behavioral healthcare practices in your patient care routines.

Well, The FAC has all of this information covered in the Allergic Disease Counseling niche section, which is broken down by focus:

Information for Allergic Individuals and Families - benefits of the Allergic Disease Counseling niche for those managing food allergy/allergic conditions
Information for Therapy Providers - working in the Food Allergy & Allergic Disease Counseling niche
Information for Allergists/Healthcare Providers - how the Allergic Disease Counseling niche can help patients in your practices

Food Allergy Therapeutic Worksheets
& Clinical Practice Forms

Feel like you or a family member could benefit from exploring your allergy-related anxiety and stress, and learn practical strategies to manage it more effectively?

Based on evidence-based behavioral health concepts, these therapeutic worksheets can be useful for exploring the emotional aspects of living with allergies. They can even be used within therapy to enhance sessions with your own therapist, too!

Speaking of therapists - there are clinical provider versions of these worksheets, as well as allergy-specific clinical intake forms to help you gather deeper insights that lead to developing effective therapeutic treatment goals with your allergic clients.

Exciting Announcement.....

New Food Allergy Counselor Website Soon!

The Food Allergy Counselor is getting a makeover!

Coming soon, the updated website will offer new features such as a searchable Food Allergy Counselor Directory, a more functional flow for all the amazing content, and a member's only section for Food Allergy Counselor members!

But wait, there's even more great news!

You can also expect TONS of fresh and one-of- a kind content coming from The FAC this year, especially for behavioral healthcare professionals!

There's lots happening behind the scenes here at The FAC!

Want to be sure you don't miss anything?
Subscribe to receive The FAC's emails -
no spam, just useful content!

And don't forget about ALL of The FAC resources here to support you!

Allergy counseling information for patients, therapists, allergists
Find an allergy-informed therapy provider - most offering telehealth
Listen to podcast episodes offering practical and relatable guidance
Watch (and listen to) webinars and podcast interviews
Explore allergy-focused behavioral health resources
Learn mindset strategies from allergy-specific therapeutic worksheets
Connect with other allergy-informed therapy providers!

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New Tool To Better Understand How Allergies Impact Our Patients' Lives

3/6/2022

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When an allergic patient or parent of a child managing an allergy reaches out for therapy, it's important for me to learn how the allergy impacts their lives. Sure, they are reaching out because they feel overwhelmed or anxious about their allergy, but that's just the overall picture. And in order to truly help my patients, I need to get a more detailed picture.

I do this by asking patients to complete the appropriate Food Allergy Psychosocial Information Form as part of their intake paperwork. The responses on this form gives me a solid glimpse into their quality of life, which domains are most impacted, and psychosocial themes that may need adjusting. It's a tool that has helped me more effectively meet my patients' needs and ensure they're feeling understood for years now.

After sharing these forms during consultation sessions with allergy practices and fellow therapists, it became clear that these tools may be beneficial to others. Therefore, I've decided to offer them to allergy and therapy practitioners, too.

Read on to learn more about how they're beneficial to both patients and providers!

The Food Allergy Psychosocial Information Forms are premade AND customizable! That means that you don't have to spend time creating them, and can personalize them with your practice's logo and information.

Versions available:

Therapy Practice Version - child, adolescent, adult, parent/caregiver
Allergy Practice Version - child, adolescent, adult, parent/caregiver
Currently available in paper format; fillable format coming soon

What are the differences between the therapy and allergy practice versions?
All four forms are available for both, but questions vary slightly between both versions so that they are more tailored to the scope of the practices.

What Information Does These Forms Gather:
These patient narrative forms allow for detailed responses on themes such as:

Allergy mindset and outlook
Anxiety levels and quality of life (QoL) impacts
Behavioral changes (i.e. restricted eating patterns, limiting experiences)
Impactful memories from previous reactions
Epinephrine knowledge and/or fear of use
Allergy care guidelines being implemented
Sources used to learn allergy information
Allergy impacts in various domains
How patients manage their allergy well
What information will help patients decrease anxiety/increase QoL

Benefits of Using These Forms in Therapy Practices:

Premade and customizable for your practice
One form gathers anxiety-related QoL, anxiety and functioning information
Patient narrative format helps with treatment goal planning
Patient may feel more comfortable sharing this information initially in writing
Potential networking tool with allergy practices - helps allergists identify patients who may benefit from therapeutic support to positively impact QoL

Benefits of Using These Forms in Allergy Practices:

Premade and customizable for your practice
One form gathers anxiety-related QoL, anxiety and functioning information
Opportunity for patients to feel heard/more easily express allergy struggles
Helps identify patients' allergy knowledge gaps or inaccurate information
Helps assess potential need for allied health services (i.e. therapist, dietitian)
Identifies themes to reassess/revisit with patients in future appointments

Suggestions/Tips For Use:

For All - Give to patients as part of intake paperwork process
For Allergy Practices - If allergist is unable to review due to time constraints, consider having another team member review and share main points

Narrative Versus Validated Patient Forms?
It's like comparing apples and oranges - both are fruit, but different kinds. Both narrative and validated forms gather valuable patient information, but in different manners.

Validated assessments, such as the Survey of Food Allergy Anxiety (SOFAA), typically assess functioning and impacts that helps drive diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Patient narrative forms, such as these Food Allergy Psychosocial Information Forms, primarily gather information to aid in understanding the whole patient. While they may also be used to help determine treatment decisions, their primary purpose is gathering information that helps to facilitate conversations and problem-solve with patients.

[The images above show the Parent/Caregiver - Therapy Practice version]

Visit the "Worksheets" page to check out and learn more about these Food Allergy Psychosocial Information Forms, and don't hesitate to reach out with questions!

Special introductory pricing is available through March 31, 2022, and there will always be a discount for purchasing the package, which includes all 4 forms.

Direct URL to the Worksheets page: www.FoodAllergyAnxiety.com

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Tips for managing oral food challenge anxiety

4/19/2021

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You've likely heard the term "oral food challenge" mentioned by your allergist or in online food allergy support groups. But if you haven't, here's a quick primer from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology on oral food challenges:

What is an oral food challenge?
An oral food challenge (OFC), or feeding test, is a medical procedure in which a food is eaten slowly, in gradually increasing amounts, under medical supervision, to accurately diagnose or rule out a true food allergy.

What are the reasons to perform an OFC?
OFCs are usually done when a careful medical history and allergy tests, such as skin and blood tests, are inconclusive. The OFC is a more definitive test because it will show whether the food ingested produces no symptoms or triggers a reaction.

Oral Food Challenge (OFC) Anxiety and Worry:

Given that during oral food challenges you are eating a food that you may potentially be allergic to or have previously been allergic to, it's no surprise that you may feel anxious and worried in anticipation of that appointment - many do. Our mind wants to keep us safe, so an oral food challenge can feel like a potential threat to our mind when we think about it. Therefore, it's normal and appropriate to experience anxiety about oral food challenges. However, it's important to remember that you don't need to interpret that anxiety to mean that the oral food challenge will result in the worst case scenario.

What Helps OFC Anxiety and Worry?

When you experience increased anticipatory anxiety - that is, anxiety about a future event, it can be helpful to prepare for the event in order to to increase readiness and decrease fear.

Here is a brief list of ways to prepare ahead of time for your or your child's oral food challenge:

Purpose/Process: Do you understand the purpose and process for the oral food challenge? It's important to have a good understanding of these things before the actual appointment, so reach out to your allergist if you're unsure.
Information: What other questions do you or your child have about the food challenge? Will you reach out to your allergist ahead of time to ask these questions? If not, what reputable sources can provide this information?
Motivation: Connect with your motivation for doing the food challenge, whether it's for yourself or your child. Reconnecting with hope and thinking about what you may gain from doing the challenge can help when feeling nervous.
Thoughts/Feelings: Notice what thoughts and feelings you're having about the food challenge. How do they make your body feel? If your child is doing the food challenge, help them notice and explore their thoughts and feelings, too. Develop a list of empowering replies to these thoughts such as "I can do hard things!" or "The allergist and nurses know what they're doing!"
Calming Strategies: Practice some calming strategies ahead of time so that you're familiar with them for the appointment. Here are a couple of simple calming strategies you can try:
- For teens or adults (Square or Box Breathing) - Exhale to a count of 4, then hold for a 4 count. Inhale to a count of 4, then hold air in your lungs for a count of 4. Exhale and repeat the pattern.
- For kids (Cupcake & Candle Breathing) - Inhale like you're smelling a yummy cupcake, and then exhale like you're blowing out the candle on it. Repeat as many times as necessary.
- 5-4-3-2-1 Activity - Notice 5 things you can see. Notice 4 things you can touch. Notice 3 things you can hear. Notice 2 things you can smell. Notice 1 thing you can taste. This helps stay present-focused rather than worrying about future things.
Logistics Preparation: What do you need to bring with to the oral food challenge appointment. Create a list of food items you may need (i.e. allergen, food to put allergen in for consumption) and fun or distracting games or activities. If the food challenge is for your child, have them help you brainstorm game or toy ideas for the appointment. Also be sure to bring along any comforting items that may help decrease anxiety and increase calm.

Additional Resources and Tips to Help Manage OFC Anxiety

PODCAST EPISODE:
Be sure to listen to Episode 14 of Exploring Food Allergy Families called, "Tips for Managing Oral Food Challenge Anxiety & Worry". In this episode, fellow allergy-informed therapist Fawn McNeil-Haber, PhD and I discuss helpful strategies for navigating oral food challenges. We offer preparation tips and guidance on navigating anxiety and mindsets prior to and during the food challenge. Here are specific topics we explore in this episode:

Strategies to navigate nerves during the actual OFC appointment
The importance of having a mantra
Tips to help determine anxiety versus allergic reaction sensations
How far in advance to tell your child about an OFC
Tips to encourage readiness and decrease anxiety for kids, teens, parents and adults
Answering the question "How does the allergist know what's happening in my body?"
A fun idea parents can prepare for the actual appointment

You can listen via your favorite podcast app, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes!

ORAL FOOD CHALLENGE PREPARATION WORKSHEETS:
Check out these Oral Food Challenge worksheets which help prepare before the appointment, offer helpful reminders for the day of, and prompts for processing after the food challenge. (There are separate worksheets for kids and teens/adults). Also check out this post on a post-anaphylaxis tool known as T.R.A.C.E, which is a compass guiding you back to confidence after allergic reactions.

You can find these worksheets on the Therapeutic Worksheets page here on the Food Allergy Counselor website.

Hopefully reading this and checking out the podcast, worksheets and other resources offers you some reassurance that oral food challenge-related anxiety is normal and manageable. Don't hesitate to reach out and let me know if these tips have helped you or your patients, or to share tips of your own! And if you're looking for an allergy-informed therapist in your state (many of whom provide telehealth to residents of their state), visit the Food Allergy Counselor Directory.

You can connect with me on Twitter (@TherapistTamara and @FACounselor), Instagram (@TherapistTamara & @FoodAllergyCounselor) and Facebook (@FoodAllergyCounselor and @TamaraHubbardLCPC).

Thanks for reading!

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Evidence-Based Allergy Behavioral Health Resources

First, What Makes The FAC Unique?

Allergy Behavioral Health
& Psychosocial Resource Section

Allergic Disease Counseling Niche Information

Food Allergy Therapeutic Worksheets
& Clinical Practice Forms

Exciting Announcement.....

New Tool To Better Understand How Allergies Impact Our Patients' Lives

Tips for managing oral food challenge anxiety

Archives

Categories

FAC Resources

For THERAPY Providers

About

Evidence-Based Allergy Behavioral Health Resources

First, What Makes The FAC Unique?

​Allergy Behavioral Health​& Psychosocial Resource Section

​Allergic Disease Counseling Niche Information

​Food Allergy Therapeutic Worksheets & Clinical Practice Forms

Exciting Announcement.....

New Tool To Better Understand How Allergies Impact Our Patients' Lives

Tips for managing oral food challenge anxiety

Archives

Categories

FAC Resources

For THERAPY Providers

About

Allergy Behavioral Health
& Psychosocial Resource Section

Allergic Disease Counseling Niche Information

Food Allergy Therapeutic Worksheets
& Clinical Practice Forms