- Diagnostic Folders -

Anxiety

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Anxiety exists when people find it difficult to control their worry on more days than not for at least six months. 

There are multiple types of anxiety such as:

Symptoms include:

  • 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.

    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.

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

For children/adolescents:

For caregivers:

Consult Line: (888) 522-9654

The North Dakota Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Line connects Primary Care Providers with a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for consultation during daytime business hours.