Anxiety disorders affect as many as 30% of children and adolescents. These disorders or their temperamental precursors can be observed during early childhood, with about 10% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 already exhibiting anxiety disorders. Not only do anxiety disorders in young children cause significant distress, they can interfere with early developmental tasks and school readiness, and may contribute to learning difficulties, social isolation, and family strain. While there are effective treatments for anxiety, children, on average, suffer for four years between the onset of their anxiety symptoms and appropriate treatment.
For over two decades, Dina Hirshfeld-Becker, PhD, Co-Director of the Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program at MGH and Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and her research team have championed the idea of early intervention for younger children with anxiety. Ultimately their goal is to teach young children and their parents strategies for managing anxiety before their symptoms become problematic. Addressing anxiety in children before they enter preschool could reduce the impact of anxiety on these children’s early development and greatly reduce their risk for learning difficulties, social isolation, family strain, and child suffering. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that early family-based interventions using cognitive–behavioral strategies can reduce rates of anxiety later on in childhood and attenuate risk for depression in adolescence.
While cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) has emerged as the psychosocial treatment of choice for treating and preventing anxiety, most of the protocols used in children today are aimed at older children (over 6 years) and adolescents. Dr. Hirshfeld-Becker and her team have been interested in developing strategies for younger children who present with significant symptoms. Behavioral strategies can be effective even in younger children with limited language ability; thus, family-based CBT may be an effective tool for managing anxiety symptoms in toddlers.
In a new study, Dr. Hirschfeld-Becker will be comparing several different strategies for managing anxiety in 2- and 3-year old children (ages 21-47 months): a parent-child CBT-based intervention, parent education, and a monitoring-only condition to determine if anxiety resolves without intervention. The entire study is being done remotely, with no requirement for in-person visits.
Read More:
Hirshfeld-Becker DR, Henin A, Rapoport SJ, Wilens TE, Carter AS. Very early family-based intervention for anxiety: two case studies with toddlers. Gen Psychiatr. 2019 Nov 21;32(6):e100156. Free article.
More information on this study can be found HERE and at ClinicalTrials.gov.
Dina Hirshfeld-Becker, PhD
Dina Hirshfeld-Becker, PhD is the Co-Director of the Child Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program at MGH and Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hirshfeld-Becker conducts cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety and mood disorders with children, adolescents, and young adults. She has particular expertise with treating anxiety in young children. Her research currently focuses on risk factors for anxiety disorders and other psychiatric disorders.
