Child Anxiety Disorders: A Family-Based Treatment Manual for Practitioners
Jeffrey K. Wood and Bryce D. McLeod
Overview—Contents—Excerpt
With over 10% of all children meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder, these disorders are among the most common psychiatric problems experienced by schoolage kids, and can significantly interfere with their family and peer relationships and their performance at school. Ranging from mild and transient to severe and intractable, high levels of anxiety in children can lead to avoiding school, not participating in class, shying away from peer groups, worrying persistently, or even experiencing phobias and acute separation anxiety from parents.
Despite the prevalence, effective, evidence-based therapeutic strategies for helping children overcome anxiety have been lacking, leaving psychologists, school counselors, and other child mental health professionals to rely on more generalized CBT and individual therapy approaches that don’t necessarily target the problems at issue.
In Child Anxiety Disorders, Wood and McLeod present a clinically-proven treatment protocol based on a collaborative, family-based intervention approach—one that has seen remission rates of 80% in children. Incorporating family therapy strategies and targeted CBT techniques, the authors lay out session-by-session guidelines for implementing the protocol, offering all those who work with and counsel children a hands-on toolkit to effectively resolve childhood anxiety, whether generalized or severe in nature.
Preliminary chapters cover anxiety typologies, screening and assessment techniques, family and genetic influences, the nature of evidence-based practices, and other clinical considerations, such as pharmacotherapy. The second part of the book, the treatment manual, presents the 15-session protocol, including optional family therapy modules to strengthen family interactions, and worksheets and handouts to be used in and out of the therapy room.
Contents
Preface
Part I: Child Anxiety Disorders: Clinical Background
1. Clinical Features of Anxiety Disorders in Children
2. Causes of Childhood Anxiety: Family and Genetic Influences
3. Evidence-Based Practices and Clinical Considerations
Part II: Treatment Manual
4. Building Confidence: A Family-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention
Session 1: Intake: Anxiety Assessment
Session 2: Functional Analysis and Rapport Building
Session 3: KICK Plan, K Step—Know When You’re Nervous
Session 4: KICK Plan, I Step—Encourage Independence
Session 5: KICK Plan, C Step—Stay Calm
Session 6: Develop the Exposure Hierarchy
Session 7: KICK Plan, Second K Step—Keep Practicing/Rewards
Sessions 8–15: Exposure Therapy
Optional Family Therapy Module A: Family Problem Solving
Optional Family Therapy Module B: Finding New Roles
Optional Family Therapy Module C: Talk Time
Optional Session: Playdate/Friendship
Final Session: Termination
Appendix: Examples of Exposures Conducted with 6- to 13-Year-Old Clients
Excerpt
From Child Anxiety Disorders:
Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric problems experienced by school-aged youngsters and can cause significant difficulties in their daily lives. Psychologists, school counselors, and other child mental health professionals often help children with challenging anxiety-related concerns and are in need of evidence-based therapeutic strategies. This book presents a family-focused cognitive behavioral intervention approach, the Building Confidence program, which was developed and tested over the course of five years at UCLA.
Even though periodic experiences of anxiety and fear are common for most children, 6–11% of school-age children experience frequent high anxiety. Because the experience of anxiety is somewhat private, others may not be aware of a child’s anxiety level. Certain behaviors may tip off parents and teachers that a child could be suffering from excessive anxiety. The question is, how concerned should caregivers be if there are signs of high anxiety in schoolage children? Current research provides some interesting answers to this question.
Excessive anxiety often leads to several challenges for children and their families. Most commonly, difficulties stemming from elevated anxiety are seen in the scholastic, social, and home domains. High anxiety can interfere with children’s cognitive abilities in academic situations, partly because their attention is divided between the task at hand and their worried thoughts about feared events (e.g., failing, being away from parents, embarrassing themselves). High anxiety is also associated with disturbance in recall of previously mastered academic knowledge. Over the course of a school year, children with high levels of anxiety may perform below their ability level, leading to lower academic performance and mastery.
About the Authors
Jefrey J. Wood, Ph.D., is a licensed child psychologist and Assistant Professor at UCLA’s Division of Psychological Studies in Education. His research on childhood anxiety has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Early Career Award of the American Educational Research Association’s Counseling and Human Development Division.
Bryce D. McLeod, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
ISBN 10: 0-393-70540-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-393-70540-9
2008 / 272 pages / hardcover
