Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Child and Maternal Anxiety (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for: Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and Marriage & Family Therapists

Course By: Ken Springer, PhD

Content By: Creswell, C., Violato, M., Cruddace, S., Gerry, S., Murray, L., Shafran, R., Stein, A., Willetts, L., McIntosh, E., & Cooper, P. J. (2020). A randomised controlled trial of treatments of childhood anxiety disorder in the context of maternal anxiety disorder: Clinical and cost-effective outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(1), 62-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13089

Course Description: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders in children, but its effectiveness is reduced when a parent has an anxiety disorder as well. The present study examined whether treatment of maternal anxiety or support for mother-child interactions can improve the effectiveness of CBT among children with anxiety. Children ranging in age from 7 to 12 years with a current anxiety disorder were assigned to one of three therapeutic conditions: CBT alone, CBT supplemented with treatment for maternal anxiety, or CBT supplemented with treatment focusing on mother-child interactions. Reductions in children's anxiety were observed in all three conditions, but no differences between conditions emerged. Further analyses indicated that supplementing CBT with treatment for maternal anxiety led to reductions in maternal anxiety, and that CBT supplemented with support for mother-child interactions is cost-effective compared to CBT alone. Overall, the results suggest that CBT is effective at reducing child anxiety when maternal anxiety is present, but that additional support for maternal anxiety or mother-child interactions does not confer additional benefits.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the rationale for the study as well as the experimental approach for gathering data
2. Describe the main findings concerning the clinical and cost-effectiveness of each CBT condition
3. Integrate the strengths and limitations of the study, and summarize the clinical implications for the use of CBT in treating children with anxiety disorders when maternal anxiety is present

Course Outline:

• Read and understand A randomised controlled trial of treatments of childhood anxiety disorder in the context of maternal anxiety disorder: Clinical and cost-effective outcomes
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Understand the rationale for examining how to increase the effectiveness of CBT for children with anxiety when maternal anxiety is present
• Distinguish between the three CBT conditions as well the approaches used to deliver CBT and measure outcomes
• Analyze the evidence for the relative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of each CBT condition
• Integrate the study's key findings, strengths, limitations, and clinical implications
• Work through the post-test questions, using the article as the sole basis for your answers
• Revisit the article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the effectiveness of CBT in treating children with anxiety when maternal anxiety is also present

Approvals: