title: [Nothing new since «Little Hans» and «Little Peter»? Psychotherapy for anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence].
abstract: Anxiety disorders are among the most frequent psychological disorders in childhood and adolescence. They are characterized by early onset, tend to remain stable over time, and act as a significant risk factor for developing a psychological disorder in adulthood. Over the last few years, research has shown that anxiety disorders in children and adolescents can be treated effectively. However, to date only cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has received convincing empirical support as an effective psychotherapeutic treatment. Evidence for the effectiveness of other psychotherapeutic treatments such as nonbehavioral family therapy or psychodynamic interventions is rather scant. Recent randomized controlled trials (RCT) proved CBT to be effective from preschool age onwards. Contrary to long-held beliefs, however, the involvement of parents in a treatment program does not appear to be crucial to therapeutic outcome. Issues regarding the effectiveness of disorder-specific treatments and the combination of psychotherapeutic treatments with the application of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are increasingly being taken up in recent studies. In addition to «classic» cognitive behavioural treatment programs there are some promising suggestions for the effectiveness of novel treatment methods such as attention bias modification or computer-assisted behavioral therapy.
authors.affiliation: Klinische Kinder- und Jugendpsychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum. verena.pflug@rub.de
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pflug
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seehagen
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors