Supportive Parenting for Anxious Child Emotions (SPACE) has become a valuable stand-alone treatment with children or teens who are reluctant to or will not engage in therapy. In addition, given the importance of family factors in maintaining childhood anxiety, SPACE can also be implemented in conjunction with CBT or ERP. This workshop will first introduce how to include parents in standard CBT/ERP, beginning with psychoeducation and then serving as coaches during exposures. Strategies to help parents handle anxious moments, speak to their children differently about anxiety and their ability to cope with difficult situations, and manage their own anxiety will also be described. After providing an overview of SPACE, how it can be used as a stand-alone treatment when youth are unwilling to engage in treatment will be outlined. Finally, presenters will demonstrate how SPACE can be used to supplement CBT/ERP, given the essential role that families play in the maintenance of child anxiety via accommodation. While presenters intend to give therapists a sense of how SPACE looks in clinical practice, this should not be considered a SPACE training program. Attendees are encouraged to gain training by certified SPACE trainers in order to use SPACE effectively and with fidelity.
CE Learning Objective(s)
Following this presentation, participants will:
- Devise both parent coaching interventions and language that parents and caregivers can use to help children in anxious moments or situations
- Identify 2 specific examples of family-based accommodation in childhood anxiety and OCD.
- Describe 2 ways that SPACE interventions address the caregiver's role in maintaining anxiety.
- Describe 2 examples of changes in of how caregivers might modify specific behavior.
About Presenters
Lynne Siqueland, PhD, is a psychologist at the Children’s and Adult Center for OCD and Anxiety, specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents for over 25 years. She has extensive experience working with children of all ages, beginning in the preschool years with a special interest in transition into adolescence and young adulthood. Dr. Siqueland received her doctoral degree in the Temple University Clinical Psychology Program under the direction of Dr. Philip Kendall, where she was part of the initial treatment manual development and clinical trials of the CBT treatment of child anxiety disorders. She was an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and Center for Psychotherapy Research for 8 years before entering private practice full time in 2001. Dr Siqueland's clinical work and research publications focus on integrating individual CBT approaches with family work. She has a special interest in collaborating with parents to guide their children to cope with their anxiety, to develop competence and autonomy, and to improve family connection and communication. Dr Siqueland also thoroughly enjoys providing training and consultation for professionals on the treatment of anxiety and OCD and for parents locally, nationally, and internationally.
Deborah Roth Ledley, PhD, is a psychologist at the Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety, specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and did post-doctoral training at the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University. Prior to joining the Children’s Center, she was a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania where she worked at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.
Dr. Ledley has done extensive research on the nature and treatment of anxiety, publishing over 50 scientific papers and book chapters, as well as three academic books. Her book, Making Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Work, now in its third edition, is used as a textbook in many clinical psychology training programs throughout North America and has been translated into numerous foreign languages. Dr. Ledley is also a co-author of The Worry Workbook for Kids.
Target Audience
This workshop is designed for licensed professionals & advanced graduate students with clinical experience who anticipate seeking licensure as mental health professionals. The instructional level of this presentation is INTERMEDIATE. Registrants will be asked to have completed one of the Beginner Level trainings offered by PBTA focused on Major Depression or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Those who have not yet attended such foundational trainings will be asked to watch the recording of one of these Beginner level trainings sponsored by PBTA. All registrants will receive a foundational beginner level recording one month in advance of this training event.
- Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists*. Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
- This program provides two (2) hours of CE credits.
- * PBTA now offers CE to psychologists licensed in the state of New York. Attestation of full attendance and provision of license number post-event required to obtain certificate that meets NY criteria for CE.
- PBTA is also an authorized provider of CE credits for Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Clinical Social Workers licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Non-psychologist licensees in other states should confirm with their respective boards that this training meets criteria for CE in their specific non-PA states or provinces.
- Full attendance with video display is required to obtain CE credit for this program. APA guidelines do not permit PBTA to issue partial CE credits. No refunds are provided for CE programs. No exceptions allowed. Registrants can log in and cancel up to 48 hours before event when registration closes.
- PBTA only offers CE for synchronous events at this time and CE cannot be awarded for asynchronous participation.
Suggested Readings
Lebowitz, E. R., Marin, C., Martino, A., Shimshoni, Y., & Silverman, W. K. (2020). Parent-based treatment as efficacious as cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety: A randomized noninferiority study of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(3), 362–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.02.014
Lebowitz, E. R., Panza, K. E., & Bloch, M. H. (2015). Family accommodation in obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders: A five-year update. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 16(1), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1586/14737175.2016.1126181
Treadwell, K. R. (2024). Family factors in the development and management of anxiety disorders, Psychiatric Clinics of North America,47(4), 787-800.
