Initial Evaluation of a Stepped Care Model for Treating Mild to Moderate Childhood Anxiety in Primary Care

"The Step-by-Step follows a stepped care approach, were all children (and caregivers) complete the first step (a brief group intervention followed by an individual session). Those with more needs are offered to continue to step 2 where individual CBT is given. See Figure 1 for a schematic representation of the stepped care approach, and Table 2 for an overview of session content.~Step 1 Session 1-4: Group sessions including psychoeducation, parenting skills and mapping stress and vulnerability factors, exposure and coping skills (90 minutes) Session 5: Individual session - If ending after step 1 a maintenance plan is completed. If continuing to step 2 continued exposure and selection of optional focus areas such as emotion regulation, social skills, stress- and vulnerability factors, child worry or parental worry. (45 minutes)~Step 2 Session 6-8: Individual sessions - Exposure and selected focus areas. (45 minutes)"

"The Cool Kids Program is an Australian manualized group CBT treatment of child anxiety, which has been broadly implemented in Sweden. Several studies have found evidence of its efficacy.~Session 1-10: Group sessions including psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring (gather evidence to reevaluate anxiety related thoughts), parent skills, exposure, social skills, coping skills (cognitive and behavioral strategies to handle anxiety reactions, learning problem-solving skills). (120 minutes)"