Comments are offered to clarify the learning model proposed by Arch and Craske (2011) based on extensive clinical experience with the CBT model for treating panic disorder developed by Barlow and Craske (1990). Suggestions are made regarding treatment targets and several cases are offered as examples of how choice of treatment target can make a…

We provide a detailed description of the clinical application of brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (BCBT) for anxious youth. A rationale for the development of BCBT is presented, followed by a description and discussion of the 8 sessions of the treatment. Mike, a 7-year-old youth with anxiety disorders, is used to illustrate the inner workings of…

The recommended treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) incorporating exposure and response prevention (ERP), which is effective for approximately 50% of patients. However, there has been little advance in treatment outcomes since the introduction of ERP in 1979. It has been suggested that some…

Cognitive and biobehavioral coping skills are central to psychosocial therapies and are taught to facilitate and improve exposure therapy. While traditional coping skills are aimed at controlling maladaptive thoughts or dysregulations in physiology, newer approaches that explore acceptance, defusion, and values-based direction have been gaining…

Applied relaxation (AR), which involves noticing early signs of anxiety and responding with a relaxation response, is an empirically supported treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, research on hypothesized mechanisms of AR (e.g., reduced muscle tension) has been mixed, making it likely that additional mechanisms are…

Anxiety and depression are highly prevalent and frequently comorbid classes of disorder associated with significant impairment in youth. While current transdiagnostic protocols address a range of potential anxiety and depression symptoms among adult and adolescent populations, there are few similar treatment options for school-aged children with…

Conventional cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder, which is closely based on the treatment for depression, has been shown to be effective in numerous randomized placebo-controlled trials. Although this intervention is more effective than waitlist control group and placebo conditions, a considerable number of clients do not…

We developed and evaluated a brief (8-session) version of cognitive-behavioral therapy (BCBT) for anxiety disorders in youth ages 6 to 13. This report describes the design and development of the BCBT program and intervention materials (therapist treatment manual and child treatment workbook) and an initial evaluation of child treatment outcomes.…

In this paper, we present a client with panic disorder and agoraphobia who relapses following a full course of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). To frame the client's treatment, the major components of CBT for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A) are reviewed. Likely reasons for the treatment's failure and strategies for improving…

Negative self-images appear to play a role in the maintenance of social phobia and research suggests they are often linked to earlier memories of socially traumatic events. Imagery rescripting is a clinical intervention that aims to update such unpleasant or traumatic memories, and is increasingly being incorporated in cognitive behavioral therapy…

Despite being the most effective treatment available, as many as one third of patients who receive exposure and response prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not initially respond to treatment. Recent research suggests that the n-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor partial agonist D-Cycloserine (DCS) may speed up the course…

Nadler (this issue), in his commentary of our article, "Addressing Relapse in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder: Methods for Optimizing Long-Term Treatment Outcomes" (Arch & Craske, 2011), argues that we misrepresent the role of panic attacks within learning theory and overlook cognitive treatment targets. He presents several case…

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is common in older adults and, although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an efficacious treatment for late-life GAD, effect sizes are only moderate and attrition rates are high. One way to increase treatment acceptability and enhance current cognitive behavioral treatments for GAD in older adults might be to…

In this paper we present a case of failure in an integrative treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) combining cognitive-behavioral therapy, an empirically supported treatment for GAD, and interpersonal-emotional processing therapy. The client of focus dropped out of treatment after the 8th session. Based on our analysis of this case, we…

Although obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has received increasing attention, the study and treatment of OCD in late life has been neglected. The obsessions and compulsions seen with older adults do not appear to differ from the symptoms experienced by other age groups, although developmental issues might influence symptom focus (e.g., memory…