Brief Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Youth

Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health problems for children and adolescents, with nearly 1 in 5 youths suffering from a significant episode before adulthood. Without intervention, these emotional issues can have lasting impacts on youths' development, with links to persistent struggles with mood, poorer physical health, school drop-out, and an increased chance of substance abuse across the lifespan. Brief Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Youth: Therapist Guide is based on an innovative program of research suggesting that the complex youth problems of anxiety and depression can be efficiently treated with a core set of behavioral tools. The treatment is a problem-focused, short-term intervention that combines exposure and behavioral activation to promote rapid change in youth symptoms in 8 to 12 sessions. In the manner of third-wave behavioral approaches, the program targets youths' avoidance of stress and negative feelings and promotes active engagement with the important activities of youth's lives - school, family, friendships. The program has proven to be both clinically effective and cost-effective in primary care and has been delivered successfully in a variety of other clinical practice settings. Further, BBT has shown positive effects with both children and adolescents and with diverse families and youths. Designed to work alongside a participant Workbook, BBT can be implemented by care providers at varying levels of training and discipline. The BBT treatment allows flexibility to accommodate youth's cultural values, family structure, developmental level, and specific symptoms and areas of impairment. With thoughtful collaboration between therapists, parents and their children, Brief Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Youth will help young people learn that they can endure situations that are scary, unpleasant, or overwhelming and reach their goals in life.