Help is available to treat childhood anxiety

The Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the Yale Child Study Center offers comprehensive evaluations and treatments for children and adolescents ages 6 to 14 years. Services are provided at no cost to families who agree to participate in research but can otherwise be provided for a fee (with a sliding scale plan also available). The program treats a range of anxiety disorders and fears, such as excessive worrying, social anxiety, difficulties or refusal to speak to other children or adults outside the child’s immediate family, separation anxiety, anxiety relating to school (e.g., taking tests, speaking in class, attending school, etc.), and specific fears (e.g., heights, dogs, thunder, etc.).

The program is currently conducting two large clinical trials to treat childhood anxiety. One is for children 6 to 12 years old and includes two effective treatments for childhood anxiety — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions, a parent-based treatment. Families enrolled in this research are randomized to receive SPACE or CBT for 12 weekly sessions. Study participants receive evaluation and treatment at no cost and are compensated up to $250.

The second trial, for children 10 to 14, is testing the effects of a brief computer-based training that targets attentional processes to reduce social anxiety in children. Attention training is a promising treatment for anxiety disorders because the hope is to train the child’s brain to divert from threatening stimuli. Participants will complete the computer program twice a week for four weeks. Study participants receive treatment at no cost and are compensated up to $350.

The Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program is led by Wendy Silverman, Alfred A. Messer Professor of Child Psychiatry and Director of the Yale Child Study Center Program’s Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program, and Eli Lebowitz, associate professor in the Child Study Center and Associate Director of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program. If interested, please feel free to call 203-737-4644 or email anxiety.csc@yale.edu to learn more about the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the Yale Child Study Center.