Exposure Therapy for Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Guide

Written by a team of clinicians specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents, this professional guide offers a comprehensive, practical resource for implementing exposure therapy when treating children and adolescents with anxiety. Each chapter is devoted to tailoring exposure work to a specific anxiety-related condition, such as separation anxiety, phobias, panic, social anxiety, and more, using a variety of creative exposure ideas and activities.

In Exposure Therapy for Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents, you'll find detailed hierarchies and clinical suggestions for treating each specific childhood anxiety condition, including separation anxiety, school refusal, selective mutism, specific phobia, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and emotion tolerance. The book also offers an overview of exposure therapy and its implementation in children and adolescents, including a review of current research and empirical findings on this approach.

With this book, you'll also find solid strategies for conducting detailed clinical assessments, so you can gain a greater understanding the specific anxiety triggers and factors that play a role in the development of and maintenance of the child's problem, and learn how this information can be used to guide you in your development of specific exposure exercises. Finally, you'll find tips on how to assess for family variables that may contribute to the maintenance of the child's condition, as well as ways to work with parents in becoming effective coaches for their children during exposure-based activities.

Children are vastly different than adults in their treatment needs and in the process through which effective therapy is implemented. If you're looking for clear, practical guidelines for designing, adapting, and implementing specific exposure exercises for your young clients, this book provides everything you need in one place.

Veronica L. Raggi, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who has specialized in treating children and adolescents for the past ten years in private practice, school, hospital, and outpatient medical settings, including New York University (NYU) Child Study Center, Children’s National Medical Center, and the University of Maryland, College Park. She presents, consults, and trains mental health professionals in utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and has published in numerous scholarly journals on evidence-based treatment approaches for mental health disorders in youth. She has developed CBT Tools for Kids, an iPhone application to help youth monitor their thoughts and feelings, and utilize CBT skills (available at itunes.apple.com).

Jessica G. Samson, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in treating children and adolescents using evidence-based treatment interventions. She has clinical research experience from her work on two large National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized-controlled trials at Johns Hopkins. She has eight years of experience in a private practice setting, and focuses her clinical work on treating anxiety, depression, tic disorders, and body-focused repetitive behaviors.

Julia W. Felton, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, and assistant professor in the division of public health at Michigan State University. In addition to her clinical work with children and young adults, she has received a number of grants to research the development of anxiety, depression, and risky behaviors across adolescence.

Heather R. Loffredo, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience in treating children and adolescents in hospital, community, school, and private practice settings. Her areas of expertise include assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders, and modification of evidenced-based treatments for special populations.

Lisa H. Berghorst, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in using evidence-based treatments to address mood and anxiety disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults. In addition, she teaches at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and has clinical research experience from the National Institute of Mental Health, Harvard University, and the Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research at McLean Hospital. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters related to mood and anxiety disorders, and resilience.

At the time of this writing, all authors were clinicians at Alvord, Baker & Associates, LLC in Montgomery County, MD.