Therapy for Childhood Anxiety

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Zoloft are effective treatments for childhood anxiety disorders, and the combination works best, a government-funded study found.

Anxiety disorders and social phobias limit the lives of at least one in 10 children. Yet up to half of these kids aren't helped by short-term treatment with psychotherapy alone or medications alone.

That's why Johns Hopkins researcher John T. Walkup and colleagues led a multi-institution, government-funded study to see whether combination treatment would help.

The researchers enrolled 488 children and teens age 7 to 17 years. All suffered separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or social phobia.

There were four different treatment groups:
  • 76 kids got inactive placebo pills.
  • 133 kids got Zoloft alone -- beginning with 25 milligrams per day and adjusted up to 200 milligrams per day within eight weeks, including eight 30- to 60-minute sessions to rate treatment response and adverse events.
  • 139 kids got CBT alone -- 14 one-hour sessions based on the Coping Cat program.
  • 140 kids got combination treatment with CBT and Zoloft.
After 12 weeks:
  • 24% of the kids in the placebo group were "very much" or "much" improved.
  • 55% of the kids in the Zoloft group were "very much" or "much" improved.
  • 60% of the kids in the CBT group were "very much" or "much" improved.
  • 81% of the kids in the CBT/Zoloft combination group were "very much" or "much" improved.
Walkup and colleagues conclude that all three of the active treatments -- CBT, Zoloft, or the combination -- are effective short-term treatments for kids with anxiety disorders.

The researchers conlcuded that among these effective therapies, combination therapy provides the best chance for a positive outcome. Sadly, most children with anxiety disorders don't get diagnosed or treated which is too bad, he says, because research now shows that untreated childhood anxiety persists into adulthood.

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Randi Fredricks is a Naturopathic Psychotherapist with a Doctorate in Naturopathy and a Masters in Psychology. She sees clients at her office in San Jose, California. She can be reached at 408-315-0645 or you can contact her online. This article is an excerpt from Randi Fredricks' book Healing & Wholeness: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Mental Health. Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems.






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