TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious children
T2 - From evidence to practice
AU - Sawyer, Monique C.
AU - Nunez, Diane
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014/2
Y1 - 2014/2
N2 - Background: Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in children, yet less than one third of children with anxiety disorders seek treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended as a first-line treatment for childhood anxiety. However, current practice generally does not include CBT due to issues of feasibility, affordability, and transportability. Aims: The primary purpose of this review was to appraise current literature regarding the effectiveness of individual CBT for childhood anxiety. Secondary purposes were to identify reasons for the discrepancy between current evidence and practice as well as to offer suggestions to overcome this dilemma. Methods: A systematic review of the literature published between 2007 and 2012 was conducted, searching four databases-Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Findings: In all 10 studies reviewed, individual CBT significantly reduced rates of anxiety diagnoses when compared with controls, and was equally effective or superior to comparison therapies. The only exception was when CBT was compared to a combination of CBT and pharmacological management, in which case the latter was more effective. Linking Evidence to Action: Each study included in this review employed hour-long sessions over a minimum of 12 visits. In order to meet clinical demands and patient preferences, affordability, and feasibility of CBT interventions must be addressed. A brief, manualized CBT program that can be supported to be clinically effective is proposed as an evidence-based solution for anxious children in outpatient mental health and primary care settings.
AB - Background: Anxiety is the most common mental health problem in children, yet less than one third of children with anxiety disorders seek treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended as a first-line treatment for childhood anxiety. However, current practice generally does not include CBT due to issues of feasibility, affordability, and transportability. Aims: The primary purpose of this review was to appraise current literature regarding the effectiveness of individual CBT for childhood anxiety. Secondary purposes were to identify reasons for the discrepancy between current evidence and practice as well as to offer suggestions to overcome this dilemma. Methods: A systematic review of the literature published between 2007 and 2012 was conducted, searching four databases-Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Findings: In all 10 studies reviewed, individual CBT significantly reduced rates of anxiety diagnoses when compared with controls, and was equally effective or superior to comparison therapies. The only exception was when CBT was compared to a combination of CBT and pharmacological management, in which case the latter was more effective. Linking Evidence to Action: Each study included in this review employed hour-long sessions over a minimum of 12 visits. In order to meet clinical demands and patient preferences, affordability, and feasibility of CBT interventions must be addressed. A brief, manualized CBT program that can be supported to be clinically effective is proposed as an evidence-based solution for anxious children in outpatient mental health and primary care settings.
KW - Anxiety
KW - Child
KW - Cognitive therapy
KW - Cognitive-behavioral therapy
KW - Evidence-based practice
KW - Review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84894340064&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84894340064&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/wvn.12024
DO - 10.1111/wvn.12024
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24479740
AN - SCOPUS:84894340064
SN - 1545-102X
VL - 11
SP - 65
EP - 71
JO - Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing
JF - Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing
IS - 1
ER -