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Session Abstract

Adolescents today are growing up in a world saturated with global crises, digital immediacy, and constant information flow—conditions that amplify uncertainty and strain developing emotional regulation systems. This session introduces Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) as a key, transdiagnostic driver of student anxiety, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation. Drawing on neuroscience, developmental psychology, and school-based research, participants will explore how the brain responds to the unknown, why uncertainty feels threatening, and how modern environments (including smartphones and AI) reduce everyday opportunities to practice coping with ambiguity. The session translates these insights into concrete counseling strategies that help students build tolerance for uncertainty, reduce anxiety, and function more flexibly in academic, social, and emotional domains.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how the adolescent brain responds to uncertainty and why uncertainty often triggers anxiety rather than problem-solving.

2. Define Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) and explain its role in student anxiety, avoidance, and emotional dysregulation.

3. Recognize common school-based signs of IU in students’ academic, social, and emotional functioning.

4. Apply practical counseling strategies that build students’ tolerance for uncertainty and support emotional regulation.