Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety
A Guide for Caregivers

"Lebowitz and Omer have taken the latest and most relevant scientific research and synthesized it into an essential read for caregivers of anxious children. Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety: A Guide for Caregivers provides an 'inside look' at the nuts and bolts of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood anxiety—the treatment of choice among leading researchers and experts. The book is filled with analogies, examples, and practical advice that professionals and parents will refer back to over and over again."
—Candice A. Alfano, PhD; Director, Sleep and Anxiety Center for Kids (SACK) Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Houston

PRACTICAL REAL-LIFE SOLUTIONS FOR CHILDREN LIVING WITH ANXIETY

FOCUSING ON THE SPECIAL ROLE OF THE CAREGIVER IN ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT

Focusing on the treatment of childhood anxiety, both in one-on-one therapist to child treatment and within the family, Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety: A Guide for Caregivers adopts an integrated approach presenting novel strategies to help mental health professionals and families create change and momentum in otherwise stagnant situations.

This empowering guide offers practical, evidence-based, and theory-driven strategies for helping children to overcome anxiety, even if they resist treatment. Uniquely providing concrete advice for both the therapeutic and home environment, this insightful book covers:

• What to do when anxiety takes over the family
• School phobia and school refusal
• Working with highly dependent young adults
• Parental support and protection
• Creating and maintaining family boundaries
• A walk-through of The Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) Program
• Cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and emotion-based tools for treating anxiety
• Medication for childhood anxiety

Preface vii

Part One: Introduction

Chapter One Anxiety Disorders of Children and Adolescents 3

Chapter Two Anxiety and Emotion Regulation 23

Chapter Three When Anxiety Takes Over—Family Accommodation 35

Part Two: Working with the Anxious Child

Chapter Four Cognitive Tools for Treating Anxiety 53

Chapter Five Behavioral Tools for Treating Anxiety 75

Chapter Six Physiological Tools for Treating Anxiety 99

Chapter Seven Emotion-Based Tools for Treating Anxiety 111

Part Three: Working with Parents

Chapter Eight Parental Support and Protection 123

Chapter Nine Childhood Anxiety and Family Boundaries 139

Chapter Ten Introduction to Parent Work and the SPACE Program 151

Chapter Eleven The SPACE Program—Treatment Process 157

Chapter Twelve Tools for Troubleshooting the SPACE Program: Session Modules 207

Chapter Thirteen Increasing Collaboration Between Parents 235

Part Four: Ancillary Issues

Chapter Fourteen School Refusal and School Phobia 267

Chapter Fifteen Highly Dependent Young Adults 281

Chapter Sixteen Medication for Childhood Anxiety 295

Appendix One Family Accommodation Scale – Anxiety (FASA) 305

Appendix Two Coercive Disruptive Behavior Scale for Pediatric OCD 309

Author Index 315

Subject Index 321

ELI R. LEBOWITZ, PHD, is the Messer Fellow in Pediatric Anxiety at the Yale Child Study Center where he treats pediatric anxiety, teaches evidence-based practice, and is the lead investigator on a number of projects relating to childhood anxiety. He has written a successful book for parents on anxiety in children and published a number of chapters and articles on anxiety and CBT.

HAIM OMER, PHD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at Tel Aviv University and founder of the Parent Training Clinic at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel. He has written many books and papers on the psychology of children.