What is SPACE and how does it help?

SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) is a parent-based treatment for childhood anxiety and OCD that teaches parents how to reduce their child's anxiety by changing their own responses. Developed at the Yale Child Study Center, it focuses on helping parents become more supportive while less accommodating to their child's anxious behaviors, fostering greater confidence and independence in the child. This approach allows children to improve their anxiety symptoms without needing to be in individual therapy sessions themselves. 

How it works

• Parent-focused: The treatment is delivered to parents, who then implement strategies at home. The child does not have to participate in therapy sessions, making it suitable for those who cannot engage in traditional treatments.

• Identifies accommodation: Clinicians work with parents to identify "accommodations," which are behaviors parents do to help their child avoid or reduce anxiety, such as answering repetitive questions or modifying family routines.

• Develops action plans: Parents create a plan to systematically reduce these accommodating behaviors.

• Builds confidence: Parents are taught to convey confidence in their child's ability to manage their feelings and transitions.

• Reduces family stress: By addressing parental responses, the program aims to decrease family stress levels and anxiety symptoms in the child. 

Key benefits

• Evidence-based: SPACE is an evidence-based treatment that has been found to be as effective as some traditional child-based therapies for reducing childhood anxiety, notes Stanford Medicine.

• Fosters independence: It helps children build resilience and independence in managing their anxiety.

Let’s Work Together

Reach our for a 15 minute free consultation.