Category: Child / Adolescent - Anxiety
Emily Becker-Haimes, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Anne Marie Albano, ABPP, Ph.D.
Professor of Medical Psychology in Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Brooklyn, New York
Emily Bilek, ABPP, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Amanda Sanchez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
George Mason University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Emily Becker-Haimes, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Douglas Clapp, MFT
La Salle University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Youth anxiety disorders are common,1 associated with significant impairment,2 and are on the rise in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.3 Fortunately, exposure therapy (EXP) is a cognitive-behavioral technique with robust support for reducing the symptoms and burden of youth anxiety.4 However, two challenges face EXP: (1) up to 40% of youth may not adequately respond to EXP, suggesting the need for more efficacy and effectiveness research,5 and (2) EXP exhibits a large research to practice gap; it is rarely used by clinicians in routine settings,6 indicating the need for targeted dissemination and implementation efforts. Treatment development and implementation research have traditionally operated in independent siloes. Enhancing collaboration amongst those conducting innovative work related to EXP across the translational spectrum is critical to prevent widening this research to practice gap.
This symposium brings together four speakers to discuss novel insights aimed at enhancing the efficacy, effectiveness, and reach of EXP for youth. The first presentation, in the efficacy domain, will present proof of concept and acceptability data from a pilot trial examining the use of self-distancing strategies to augment EXP and increase its efficacy among adolescents. Results suggested that the intervention was acceptable and that self-distancing increase youth engagement and facilitate completion of more challenging EXP tasks. The second presentation, in the effectiveness domain, will present data from a chart review conducted in a specialty pediatric anxiety community mental health program where >75% of youth are on public insurance. They will report on EXP dosage youth received in this setting, dosage of other treatment techniques, and the link between receipt of treatment techniques and outcomes. Moving along the translational spectrum to dissemination, the third presentation will focus on the potential to leverage marketing strategies to improve the public image of EXP among clinicians to increase its uptake. They will present data on clinician preferences for the use of alternative terminology developed to be more palatable and marketable compared to EXP terminology and discuss implications for dissemination. Finally, in the implementation space, the last talk will present on the development process of an adapted implementation model for an exploratory intensive, in-home, family therapy program for youth and families on medical assistance with severe anxiety and related disorders. Strategies for and challenges with embedding EXP into existing Medicaid services will be highlighted.
A leading expert in youth EXP, will serve as discussant and discuss implications of findings for optimizing EXP outcomes for youth. The discussant will highlight the importance of interdisciplinary work to achieve the shared goal of improving quality and delivery of EXP and facilitate conversation about the importance of optimizing pediatric anxiety treatment to ensure that mental health providers can adequately respond to the psychiatric sequelae of public health emergencies.
Presenter: Emily Bilek, ABPP, Ph.D. – University of Michigan
Presenter: Amanda Sanchez, Ph.D. – George Mason University
Co-author: Michal Weiss, B.S. – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Co-author: Emily M. Becker-Haimes, Ph.D. – University of Pennsylvania
Presenter: Emily M. Becker-Haimes, Ph.D. – University of Pennsylvania
Co-author: Rebecca Stewart, PhD – University of Pennsylvania
Co-author: Hannah E. Frank, Ph.D. – The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Presenter: Douglas J. Clapp, MFT – La Salle University
Co-author: Joshua Shields, BA – Hall mercer Community Mental Health
Co-author: Amber Howard, MA – Hall mercer Community Mental Health
Co-author: Emily M. Becker-Haimes, Ph.D. – University of Pennsylvania