Jessica Emick – CBT for Anxiety in Children & Adolescents: The Most Effective Strategies for Assessment & Treatment

Outline:

PART ONE: Assessment

The Developmental Unfolding of Anxiety

• Typical vs. atypical behavior
• Developmental expectations related to anxiety disorders
• When typical anxiety becomes something more

What to Look For, How to Differentiate

• DSM-5® criteria
• Specific assessment tools
• Most common disorders
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Panic Disorder
  • Selective Mutism
  • Separation Anxiety Disorder
  • Social Anxiety Disorder
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Interplay of Anxiety & Other Issues

• Impact of anxiety on other aspects of functioning
• Impact of cultural differences
• Common co-morbid conditions:
  • ADHD
  • Learning disorders
  • Speech & language disorders
  • Substance use issues

PART TWO: Treatment

CBT Interventions for Children & Adolescents

• Psychoeducation
• Relaxation
• Cognitive schema re-organization
• Problem solving
• Reinforcement
• Modeling
• Exposure-based procedures
• Specific treatments by disorder and age group
• The role of creativity in discovering, practicing & generalizing skills

Interventions for Home & School

• Family behaviors
• Maximize family buy-in & support
• Collaborative consultation with the school

Case Studies

• Separation Anxiety – help a 10-year-old attend a sleepover
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – help a 9-year-old stop counting in patterns
• Social Anxiety Disorder/School Refusal – help a 6-year-old attend school
• Selective Mutism – help a 7-year-old talk to his peers at school
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder with Panic Attacks – help a 13-year-old manage panic attacks