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 Assistant Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center. His research and clinical work focus on childhood anxiety and the family systems of children suffering from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. He has published a successful book for parents on anxiety in children and is the author of several scientific papers and chapters 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.