About
Parent-Based Treatment for Childhood Anxiety
Anxiety & OCD Treatment Services' has two providers who are trained in SPACE treatment - which stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. SPACE is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems.
While we work with families individually, we also offer a group-based parenting program. The treatment group, called Parenting Anxious Kids, runs multiple times per year. We are currently enrolling for our next group starting in September 2023.
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What is SPACE and who is it for?
Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz, director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders of the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE is an innovative, evidence-based program to help treat children with anxiety. SPACE treatment is appropriate for many of the most common anxiety issues that children and adolescents face:
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
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Separation anxiety
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Social anxiety
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Generalized anxiety
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Specific phobias
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Illness and health anxiety
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Panic disorder and agoraphobia
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Selective mutism
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The current gold standard treatment for childhood anxiety is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), in which the therapist works directly with the child or adolescent, and the parent has little to no input. This can be challenging at times, especially if a child does not recognize their own anxious patterns or if they are unwilling to participate in therapy. The SPACE program is a bit different than traditional CBT. It is designed to help children feel less anxious, but it’s the parents and caregivers that participate in treatment sessions - not the kid. SPACE is an effective approach, with research demonstrating that it is as efficacious as well-established CBT in reducing child anxiety.
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SPACE acknowledges the role of parents in helping children cope with difficult situations and in the maintenance of child anxiety. SPACE aims to modify the parents’ behavior through psychoeducation about anxiety disorders, monitoring current parental behaviors, and equipping caregivers with strategies and detailed plans designed to best support the child’s treatment. The two primary targets in SPACE are (1) increasing supportive responses, and (2) reducing accommodation behaviors.
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Additional SPACE Resources:
Meet Our SPACE Providers
Contact us
Questions or appointment request
If you have any questions or would like to enroll in our next Parenting Anxious Kids group, please contact us via email at admin@anxietytreatmentonline.com or fill out your contact information below and we'll be in touch