Cognitive behavioral therapy in a one-session treatment for a preschooler with specific phobias
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Farrell, Lara J
Donovan, Caroline
Ollendick, Thomas
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Abstract
Anxiety disorders among preschool-aged children are as prevalent as in older children, yet younger children are even less likely to receive treatment for these frequently impairing childhood disorders (Egger & Angold, 2006). Specific phobias (SPs) are often the earliest form of anxiety to onset, affect 2.3% of preschoolers (Egger & Angold, 2006), and tend to be stable from 3 years of age to at least 6 years of age (Bufferd, Dougherty, Carlson, Rose, & Klein, 2012). Recently, our group developed and piloted a modified intensive one-session treatment (OST) incorporating play therapy for preschoolers with SP (Farrell, Kershaw, & Ollendick, in press). Given that highly fearful young children may find concentrated, rapid exposure therapy highly confronting, we integrated play therapy into the commencement of this treatment to (a) assist with rapid rapport building with the therapist and (b) enhance the child's motivation through engaging them with play. An initial, controlled, baseline case series (N = 4) provided preliminary evidence of the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of this innovative onesession (3 hours) therapy—POP! Pre-schoolers Overcoming Phobias (POP; Farrell et al., in press). The approach combines child-centered, nondirective play therapy (during Hour 1) and empirically supported OST (during Hours 2 and 3), with 4-year-old preschool children with clinical SPs of dogs. This article presents a case description of POP, describing the assessment approach, cognitive-behavioral case formulation, and intensive treatment of a 4-year-old girl who presented with a severe SP of dogs, along with various other comorbid SPs.
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Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy
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31
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1
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© 2017 Springer Publishing Company. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
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Clinical psychology
Applied and developmental psychology
Clinical and health psychology
Social and personality psychology