Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD

Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are the most common mental health problems of childhood and adolescence. Parents of anxious children struggle with how to help their child and are faced with constant dilemmas, such as how to respond to their child’s anxiety. This book provides a practical step-by-step guide for parents to help children and adolescents overcome anxiety and OCD in a positive and loving manner. It builds on rich clinical experience and on rigorous scientific evidence for the efficacy of a completely parent-based program called SPACE, or Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Working through the steps in the book, parents replace accommodating behaviors—which can maintain the child’s symptoms—with supportive responses that convey both acceptance of the child’s genuine difficulty and confidence in the ability to cope.