Family treatment of childhood anxiety

Abstract

AbstractAnxiety disorders are the most common form of psychopathology reported by children and adolescents and significantly affect a child's ability to deal with normal developmental challenges. Fortunately, the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural interventions with anxmus children and adolescents has been clearly demonstrated. Most recently, however, treatment outcome research in this area has demonstrated the relative superiority of cognitive-behavioural interventions involving the family as well as the anxious child. Through the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Project at the University of Queensland, an integrated intervention involving a parent-focused component (the “Do as I Do” program) and a child-focused component (the “Facing your Fears” program) has been developed and is currently being evaluated. The present paper outlmes the type of research conducted within the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Project, the need for intervention in childhood anxiety, the treatment outcome data on which the development of this integrated intervention has been based, the content of each session in the intervention, and clinical observations and reflections made by clinicians involved in the administration of the intervention.