5 - (SYM 88) Parent-coached Exposure Therapy: A Novel Therapy to Improve Treatment Outcomes for Childhood Anxiety Disorders

This presentation will review the findings from a randomized controlled trial examining the potential to enhance therapy for childhood anxiety disorders (CADs; i.e., generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or specific phobia)) through the inclusion of parents and focus on exposure. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the strongest evidenced-based therapy for CADs. Parent-coached exposure therapy (PCET) is designed to treat CADs more effectively and efficiently through working with youth and parents together to complete exposures within sessions. In a randomized controlled trial, 78 patients aged 7 to 17 with CADs were assigned to PCET or the gold-standard CBT. The primary outcome was independent evaluator ratings of anxiety severity at mid- and post-treatment. Secondary outcomes were parent- and child-reported symptoms. Patients receiving PCET had significantly lower mean scores on the primary outcome measure at mid-treatment (PCET: 3.03 ± 0.14, 95% CI=2.75-3.32 vs. CBT: 3.77 ± 0.16, 95% CI= 3.45-4.08, p = 0.001) and post-treatment (PCET: 2.79 ± 0.14, 95% CI= 2.50 - 3.07 vs. CBT: 3.33±0.16, 95% CI= 2.02 - 3.64, p = 0.015). Similar significant results were found with the secondary parent- and child-reported outcomes. These superior results were achieved in PCET with fewer sessions (M = 6.62 sessions, SD = 2.8) than those in CBT (M = 8.00 sessions, SD = 3.1), p = .041. We will discuss clinical and research implications of the novel PCET intervention leading to significantly greater symptom improvement in fewer sessions than the gold-standard CBT.