Empirically supported treatments for children with phobic and anxiety disorders: current status

Abstract

Reviews the empirically supported status of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral interventions in the treatment of childhood phobias and anxiety disorders. For childhood phobias, it is concluded that imaginal desensitization, in vivo desensitization, filmed modeling, live modeling, and cognitive-behavioral interventions that use self-instruction training are probably efficacious and that participant modeling and reinforced practice are well established. For anxiety disorders, only cognitive-behavioral procedures with and without family anxiety management (FAM) were found to be probably efficacious. However, much of the support for these procedures comes from analogue studies conducted in research laboratory or school settings, delivered in small-group format and, not infrequently, with nonclinically referred children. Additional research that examines high-strength interventions with clinic-referred children is recommended. Furthermore, research that examines the pathological processes involved in the onset and maintenance of phobic and anxiety disorders as well as the change processes used to treat these disorders is called for.