Empirically Supported Treatment Options for Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Provides children and adolescents with skills to change how much they feel anxiety or sadness by helping them change some of the thoughts and behaviors that lead to these emotions.
Medication
Child/Adolescent and parents work with a physician to find an option that is best for the child, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most common for child anxiety disorders.
Combination Therapy
Combination Theraphy uses both CBT and medication together to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
While there are other treatment options for child anxiety (e.g., other forms of talk therapy, play therapy, etc.), there is no research to show that these therapies are effective. CBT, medication, and a combination of CBT and medication are the only treatment options that have been shown through numerous controlled research studies to be effective in reducing anxiety in children and adolescents.
At our center, we specialize in CBT to treat children and adolescents’ anxiety. While we do not provide prescriptions for medications, if the therapist believes that medications may be helpful in treating the child or adolescent, he/she may be referred to another clinician to obtain such medications.
