Parent-Only Treatment of Children and Adolescents

Parents play an integral role in the etiology of child and adolescent obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders (i.e., anxiety-related disorders; ARDs). In this chapter, we describe a treatment for child and adolescent ARDs that involves only parents and relies solely on parent behavior change. The treatment, SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions; Lebowitz, J Obsessive Compuls Relat Disord 2(4):425–431, 2013), adopts an interpersonal, systemic perspective on childhood anxiety. The main goals of SPACE are to help parents increase supportive responses to their child’s anxious distress and reduce accommodating behaviors that may be contributing to the maintenance of their child’s anxiety. We provide the theoretical background and rationale for this treatment approach and a step-by-step overview. We further discuss the empirical research supporting the efficacy of SPACE and cultural considerations. Finally, we conclude with an illustrative case vignette.