ERIC Number: EJ982996
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0005-7894
EISSN: N/A
An Open Trial Investigation of a Transdiagnostic Group Treatment for Children with Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms
Bilek, Emily L.; Ehrenreich-May, Jill
Behavior Therapy, v43 n4 p887-897 Dec 2012
The current study investigates the feasibility and preliminary outcomes associated with a transdiagnostic emotion-focused group protocol for the treatment of anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms in youth. Twenty-two children (ages 7 to 12; M = 9.79) with a principal anxiety disorder and varying levels of comorbid depressive symptoms were enrolled in an open trial of the Emotion Detectives Treatment Protocol (EDTP; Ehrenreich-May & Bilek, 2009), an intervention adapted from existent unified protocols for the treatment of emotional disorders among adults and adolescents. Results indicate that participants experienced significant improvements in clinician-rated severity of principal anxiety disorder diagnoses (d = 1.38), the sum of all anxiety and depressive disorder severity ratings (d = 1.07), and child-reported anxiety (d = 0.47) and parent-reported depressive symptoms (d = 0.54) at the posttreatment assessment. EDTP had good retention rates and reports of high satisfaction. Thus, preliminary evidence suggests that EDTP is a feasible and potentially efficacious treatment of youth anxiety disorders and co-occurring depressive symptoms. Children experiencing a range of internalizing symptoms may benefit from this more generalized, emotion-focused treatment modality, as it offers flexibility to families and the mental health clinician, while maintaining a concurrent focus on the provision of cognitive-behavioral treatment skills vital to the amelioration of anxiety and depressive disorder symptoms in youth. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Behavior Modification, School Personnel, Anxiety Disorders, Anxiety, Depression (Psychology), Emotional Disturbances, Severity (of Disability), Therapy, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Outcomes of Treatment, Children, Intervention, Behavior Problems, Cognitive Restructuring, Family (Sociological Unit)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A