Exposure Therapy for Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Ocd

Stephen P.H. Whiteside, PhD, ABPP is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Professor of Psychology with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and Director of the Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the International OCD Foundation, and the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation. He has published over 70 scientific articles, co-authored the book Exposure Therapy for Anxiety: Principles and Practice (2nd Ed), and is the co-developer of Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach, an iOS application.Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD, is University Distinguished Professor in Clinical Psychology and Director of the Child Study Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. He is the author or co-author of more than 350 research publications, 100 book chapters, and 35 books. He is a former editor ofthe Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and Behavior Therapy, as well as a founding and current Co-Editor of Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. He is also former President of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (1995), the Society of Clinical Psychology (1999), the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (2007), and the Society for the Science of Clinical Psychology (2010). Bridget K. Biggs, PhD, ABPP, is a Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her research has been supported by institutional and external funding sources, including the National Institutes of Health. She has published over 30 articles and co-edited the book Preventing and Treating Bullying and Victimization.

Exposure is the most important component of therapy for anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents. Unfortunately, this treatment tool is infrequently used by clinicians, limiting the help available to children suffering from anxiety and OCD. To address this gap, Exposure Therapy for Child and Adolescent Anxiety and OCD begins with a rationale for using exposure therapy grounded in history and science. The authors then provide a step-by-step procedure for delivering exposures, illustrated through sample dialogues and case examples.

Section I: Overview and Background