SPECIAL SERIES: Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Original Research Article

Cognitive-behavioral treatments are efficacious intervention choices for anxious youth, yet the lack of access to and usage of evidence-based treatments outside of a research context continues to challenge efforts to disseminate and implement such interventions. One potential avenue for reconciling effective care and that most readily accessed by children and their families may be to offer treatment in an intensive format, typically consisting of a more concentrated dose of cognitive-behavioral treatment components. This special series in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice aims to explore the evolution of intensive cognitive-behavioral treatments currently under investigation across a variety of child and adolescent anxiety disorder populations, including specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, school refusal, and panic disorder. In addition to delineating the research support to date for intensive cognitive-behavioral treatment among children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, the articles included in this series provide detail on the application of each intensive intervention, highlight innovative treatment elements, and explore clinical and systematic issues unique to an abbreviated treatment format.