Anxiety

• Clinical Practice Guidelines, authored by the CQI, are intended to address the assessment and treatment of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Journal of American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 59, October 2020.

  • Clinical Practice Guidelines for Assessment and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders.

  Psychotherapy, specifically, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), is an evidenced-based, first-line method for the treatment of anxiety. CBT focuses on three components of responding to perceived stressors. These components are cognitive (e.g., cognitive distortions about the likelihood of harm), behavioral (e.g., avoidance of potentially harmful situations), and physiologic (e.g., what the body responds like to include somatic symptoms).

  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) is a self-administered assessment used to assess for the presence and severity of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A seven-item scale was designed using diagnostic criteria for GAD from the DSM and can screen for panic, social anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder .
    Ages: 13 and over • Time: 2-5 minutes
    English | Spanish
  • Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a diagnostic instrument used to screen for the presence of anxiety disorders in children. This 41-item instrument was designed using the five diagnostic criteria in the DSM and has two versions, child and parent.
    Ages: 8-18 • Time: 10 minutes
    English | Spanish
  • Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) is a psychological questionnaire designed to identify symptoms of various anxiety disorders, specifically social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder/agoraphobia, and other forms of anxiety, in children and adolescents between ages 8 and 15. Developed by Susan H. Spence and available in various languages, the 45 question test can be filled out by the child or by the parent. There is also another 34 question version of the test specialized for children in preschool between ages 2.5 and 6.5. Any form of the test takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete.
    English | Spanish
    Preschool version, ages 2.5 – 6.5; Child version, ages 8-15

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a leading treatment for anxiety.

• CBT for Anxiety handouts, worksheets, and resources.
  UW Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center
• Various anxiety tools to use with children
  Therapist Aid

• Anxiety Coding Fact Sheet for Primary Care Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics

Read the viewing instructions to learn how to earn CME credit. Recordings are listed in alphabetical order.

• Anxious and Avoidant Behavior
  July 21, 2021
  Slides | Video
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  May 21, 2020
  Slides | Video
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  August 20, 2020
  Slides | Video
• Separation Anxiety Disorder and Reactive Attachment Disorder
  August 6, 2020
  Slides | Video
• Social Anxiety, Specific Phobias, & Selective Mutism
  June 4, 2020
  Slides | Video

• After the Injury: From Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America
• Anxiety Canada Youth: An online CBT tools website for teens.
• Anxiety Disorders Association of America
• Anxiety in Teens is Rising: What’s Going on? Health Children explores the increased rate of teenage anxiety, signs and symptoms, and treatment options.
• Child Anxiety Network
• Children’s Center for OCD and Anxiety
• Eight Tips for Managing Children’s Anxiety about COVID-19: Children’s Health provides tips for supporting children during the pandemic.
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides an overview and the warning signs, risks, and treatments for anxiety disorders.
• Why Childhood Anxiety Often Goes Unrecognized: Child Mind Institute reviews outward signs of anxiety in children and the consequences of leaving it untreated.

• GoZen Anxiety Relief for Kids

• All Nations Health Center in Missoula: Provide free mindfulness exercises on their Facebook page.
• Kid Evolve: Reviews 15 mindfulness and relaxation apps for kids with anxiety.

• Plum Tree Psychology: Handout created to facilitate a discussion about managing anxiety and when to seek support for kids.
• NIMH Publications about Anxiety Disorder. Browse publications produced by the National Institute of Mental Health
• What is Anxiety? A one-page overview by Therapist Aid.
• What Kids Worry about at Different Ages: Provides an overview of common developmental concerns children express.

• Ensuring Your Child is Supported at School: National Alliance of Mental Illness provides four steps for communicating with schools about a child’s needs.
• For Kids with Anxiety, Parents Learn to Let Them Face Their Fears: NPR explores how reframing caregiver fears can support children with anxiety.
• Why Are More Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe AnxietyThe New York Times investigates the high incidence of stress reported by teenagers today.

For children/adolescents:

• Barnes and Noble: Young Adults book recommendations for teen anxiety.
• We Are Teachers: Recommended reading for young children with anxiety.
• What to Do When You Are Scared and Worried (2004), by James Crist, PhD
• What to Do When You Worry Too Much (2005), by Dawn Huebner, PhD
• What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming OCD (2007), by Dawn Huebner, PhD

For caregivers:

• Anxiety Disorders:Parents’ Medication Guide, an online medication and treatment guide for family’s with anxious children.
• Freeing Your Child from Anxiety (2014), by Tamar Chansky, PhD
• Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (2001), by Tamar Chansky, PhD
• Helping Your Anxious Child (2008), by Rapee, PhD, Wignall, DPsych, Spence, PhD, Cobham, PhD, and Lyneham, PhD
• Talking Back to OCD (2006), by John March, MD
• Worried No More: Help and Hope for Anxious Children (2005), by Aureen Pinto Wagner, PhD

• How Parents Can Help With Child Anxiety: UCLA CARES Center presents Dr. John Piacentini and Dr. Diana Santacrose suggest ways that parents can help their child manage feelings of stress and anxiety.
• Overcoming Anxiety with Jonas Kolker: TEDx talk by Jonas Kolker about “embracing the suck” of anxiety.