Exposure Therapy With Children and Adolescents

Exposure therapy is highly effective for treating anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, yet implementation with youth and their parents entails unique challenges. Packed with clinical examples, this concise book provides practical, developmentally savvy guidelines for conducting therapeutic exposure with 5- to 18-year-olds. At each stage of the process, it addresses clinicians' most common questions and concerns. Coverage includes how to build a strong initial assessment; develop a fear ladder; individualize exposure exercises for different problem areas, including phobia, social anxiety, worry, separation anxiety, and panic; and monitor progress. Also discussed is when and how to integrate exposure with relaxation and cognitive strategies.
 

Michael A. Southam-Gerow, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research focuses on the dissemination and implementation of psychological treatments for mental health problems in children and adolescents. He also studies emotion processes (such as emotion regulation) in children and adolescents, and treatment integrity. Dr. Southam-Gerow is a consultant for PracticeWise, a company offering training in evidence-informed approaches to children’s mental health care to therapists and agencies. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, has published dozens of scholarly papers, and is author of Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents: A Practitioner’s Guide and Exposure Therapy with Children and Adolescents.

1. Why Exposure?
2. Psychoeducation: Setting the Stage for Exposure
3. The Fear Ladder, and Tips on Assessment and Monitoring in Exposure Treatment
4. Conducting Exposures: The Basics
5. Exposure and Coping Skills
6. Exposure for Specific Phobia
7. Exposure for Social Anxiety
8. Exposure for Separation Fears
9. Exposure for Worry
10. Exposure for Panic Disorder
References
Index