Skip to main content
ABCT 2024 58th Annual Convention Main banner
Psychology Tools Ad
Final Program


Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 7

Child / Adolescent - Anxiety
Symposia

Symposium 88 - The Future of Child Anxiety Treatment: Parents, Exposure, and Technology

Saturday, November 16, 2024
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Location: Regency Ballroom C2, Second Floor Mezzanine, Loews Hotel
CE: 1.5

Keywords: Child, Anxiety, Technology / Mobile Health
Level of Familiarity: Moderate
Recommended Readings: de Jong, R., Lommen, M. J. J., van Hout, W. J. P. J., Kuijpers, R. C. W. M., Stone, L., de Jong, P., & Nauta, M. H. (2023). Better together? A randomized controlled microtrial comparing different levels of therapist and parental involvement in exposure-based treatment of childhood specific phobia. Journal of anxiety disorders, 100, 102785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102785,   Creswell, C., Taylor, L., Giles, S., Howitt, S., Radley, L., Whitaker, E., Brooks, E., Knight, F., Raymont, V., Hill, C., van Santen, J., Williams, N., Mort, S., Harris, V., Yu, S., Pollard, J., Violato, M., Waite, P., & Yu, L. M. (2024). Digitally augmented, parent-led CBT versus treatment as usual for child anxiety problems in child mental health services in England and Northern Ireland: a pragmatic, non-inferiority, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness randomised controlled trial. The lancet. Psychiatry, 11(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00429-7,   McLellan LF; Woon S; Hudson JL; Lyneham HJ; Karin E; Rapee RM, 2024, 'Treating child anxiety using family-based internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy with brief therapist guidance: A randomized controlled trial', Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 101, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102802,  
Lebowitz, E. R., Marin, C., Martino, A., Shimshoni, Y., & Silverman, W. K. (2020). Parent-Based Treatment as Efficacious as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Anxiety: A Randomized Noninferiority Study of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(3), 362–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.02.014
,   Whiteside, S. P., Sim, L. A., Morrow, A. S., Farah, W. H., Hilliker, D. R., Murad, M. H., & Wang, Z. (2020). A meta-analysis to guide the enhancement of CBT for childhood anxiety: exposure over anxiety management. Clinical child and family psychology review, 23, 102-121.

Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in youth, with prevalence estimates as high as 15 to 20% and are associated with significant and sustained impairment. With over 40 randomized controlled trials spanning three decades, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most researched and first line intervention for childhood anxiety disorders (CADs). Extant evidence supporting the use of CBT includes findings that it is more effective than waitlist control and pill-placebo as well as equivalent to medication. Further, CBT has been used as the standard for demonstrating outcome equivalence and has demonstrated partial superiority over active controls. Despite the substantial success of CBT, additional improvements to treatment for CADs are needed. Specifically, more than 50% of patients remain symptomatic after a course of CBT and CBT has not demonstrated superiority over treatment as usual. Additionally, the length of traditional CBT of 12 or more sessions exceeds the average number of sessions attended in real-world settings, questioning the clinical utility/applicability of traditional CBT. As such, to improve the lives of youth with CADs, innovative treatments need to be developed that offer greater symptom relief more quickly.
The current symposium presents a path toward increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and accessibility of therapy for CADs through an emphasis on exposure, parent involvement, and technology. The first presentation demonstrates the distinct importance of in-session exposure and parent involvement through a randomized controlled microtrial of in-person therapy. The second presentation demonstrates the potential to increase accessibility by presenting the results of a brief online treatment program delivered in routine clinical practice and by identifying barriers and facilitators to the implementation of this intervention in routine services using implementation science frameworks. The third presentation demonstrates pilot and factorial design studies on the use of technology to optimize the delivery and impact of exposure treatment. The fourth study presents data from a clinical research program demonstrating the effectiveness of a parent-based treatment. The fifth presentation demonstrates that parent-coached exposure can improve treatment in a randomized controlled trial. Finally, the discussant will explore the implications of the presented work for optimizing child anxiety treatment.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. List two reasons that additional research is needed to improve child anxiety treatment
  2. Identify the benefits of in session exposures within child anxiety treatment
  3. Describe two approaches to including parents in child anxiety treatment
  4. Explain how technology can support child anxiety treatment
  5. Describe how technology can increase access to child anxiety treatment

Presentations:

  • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
    (SYM 88) Formats for Exposure-based Treatment for Childhood Specific Phobia: A Randomized Microtrial Examining the Effects of (parent-guided) Homework versus In-session Exposure

    Speaker: Maaike Heleen Nauta, M.S., Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Groningen, the Netherlands

    Co-author: Rachel de Jong, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Groningen, the Netherlands

    Co-author: Miriam Lommen, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Groningen, the Netherlands

    Co-author: Rowella Kuijpers, PhD (she/her/hers) – Radboud University

    Co-author: Lisanne Stone, PhD – Tilburg University

    Co-author: Wiljo van Hout, PhD – University of Groningen

    Co-author: Peter de Jong, Ph.D. – University of Groningen

  • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
    (SYM 88) Brief Online, Therapist Guided, Parent-led CBT for Child Anxiety Problems: An Innovative Intervention to Help Meet the Demand for CBT Treatment

    Speaker: Chloe Chessell, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Oxford

  • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
    (SYM 88) Using Digital Tools to Optimize Parent-led Exposure-focused CBT for Children with Anxiety Disorders

    Speaker: Jennifer L. Hudson, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Black Dog Institute

    Co-author: Chloe Lim, PhD (she/her/hers) – Black Dog Institute

    Co-author: Wenting Chen, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Black Dog Institute

    Co-author: Emma McDermott, BPsych(Hons) (she/her/hers) – Black Dog Institute

    Co-author: Gemma Sicouri, PhD (she/her/hers) – Black Dog Institute

  • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
    (SYM 88) SPACE Parent-based Treatment for Child Anxiety: Clinical and Neurobiological Findings from Two New Clinical Trials

    Speaker: Eli R. Lebowitz, Ph.D. – Yale Child Study Center

  • 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
    (SYM 88) Parent-coached Exposure Therapy: A Novel Therapy to Improve Treatment Outcomes for Childhood Anxiety Disorders

    Speaker: Lilianne M. Gloe, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Mayo Clinic

    Co-author: Lilianne M. Gloe, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Mayo Clinic

    Co-author: Stephen P H Whiteside, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Mayo Clinic

    Co-author: Bridget K. Biggs, ABPP, Ph.D., Other – Mayo Clinic