Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety
Increases in adolescent anxiety over the past several years suggest a need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive interventions that help teens cope with environmental stressors like those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although abundant evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive behavi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1096291/full |
| _version_ | 1797840541773201408 |
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| author | Joanna Herres E. Stephanie Krauthamer Ewing Suzanne Levy Torrey A. Creed Guy S. Diamond |
| author_facet | Joanna Herres E. Stephanie Krauthamer Ewing Suzanne Levy Torrey A. Creed Guy S. Diamond |
| author_sort | Joanna Herres |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increases in adolescent anxiety over the past several years suggest a need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive interventions that help teens cope with environmental stressors like those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although abundant evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating adolescent anxiety, not all teens respond positively to CBT. CBT does not typically include strategies that address important family factors that may be impacting the teen’s functioning, such as the attachment relationship. Attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) addresses the attachment relationship and other factors that contribute to the adolescent’s anxiety and related distress. By enhancing positive parenting behaviors, such as acceptance and validation of the adolescent’s distress and promotion of their autonomy, ABFT sessions may repair the attachment relationship and increase the family’s ability and willingness to engage in CBT tasks aimed at reducing anxiety. This theoretical paper describes the ABFT model and proposes that implementing ABFT sessions prior to CBT could result in better clinical outcomes for adolescents with anxiety disorders by improving the context within which the anxiety symptoms and treatment are experienced. Given that ABFT is sensitive and responsive to family and other contextual factors, adolescents from marginalized communities and those from less individualistic cultures may find the model to be more acceptable and appropriate for addressing factors related to their anxiety. Thus, a combined ABFT+CBT model might result in better outcomes for adolescents who have not historically responded well to CBT alone. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:17:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-724dd0e3ad584e8394826ef972825278 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T16:17:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-724dd0e3ad584e8394826ef9728252782023-04-24T04:32:32ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402023-04-011410.3389/fpsyt.2023.10962911096291Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxietyJoanna Herres0E. Stephanie Krauthamer Ewing1Suzanne Levy2Torrey A. Creed3Guy S. Diamond4Department of Psychology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United StatesCounseling and Family Therapy Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesCounseling and Family Therapy Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesPerelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesCounseling and Family Therapy Department, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesIncreases in adolescent anxiety over the past several years suggest a need for trauma-informed, culturally responsive interventions that help teens cope with environmental stressors like those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although abundant evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating adolescent anxiety, not all teens respond positively to CBT. CBT does not typically include strategies that address important family factors that may be impacting the teen’s functioning, such as the attachment relationship. Attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) addresses the attachment relationship and other factors that contribute to the adolescent’s anxiety and related distress. By enhancing positive parenting behaviors, such as acceptance and validation of the adolescent’s distress and promotion of their autonomy, ABFT sessions may repair the attachment relationship and increase the family’s ability and willingness to engage in CBT tasks aimed at reducing anxiety. This theoretical paper describes the ABFT model and proposes that implementing ABFT sessions prior to CBT could result in better clinical outcomes for adolescents with anxiety disorders by improving the context within which the anxiety symptoms and treatment are experienced. Given that ABFT is sensitive and responsive to family and other contextual factors, adolescents from marginalized communities and those from less individualistic cultures may find the model to be more acceptable and appropriate for addressing factors related to their anxiety. Thus, a combined ABFT+CBT model might result in better outcomes for adolescents who have not historically responded well to CBT alone.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1096291/fullcognitive behavioral therapyattachmentculturally responsive and trauma-informed practiceparent-adolescent relationshipadolescent anxiety |
| spellingShingle | Joanna Herres E. Stephanie Krauthamer Ewing Suzanne Levy Torrey A. Creed Guy S. Diamond Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety Frontiers in Psychiatry cognitive behavioral therapy attachment culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice parent-adolescent relationship adolescent anxiety |
| title | Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| title_full | Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| title_fullStr | Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| title_short | Combining attachment-based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| title_sort | combining attachment based family therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to improve outcomes for adolescents with anxiety |
| topic | cognitive behavioral therapy attachment culturally responsive and trauma-informed practice parent-adolescent relationship adolescent anxiety |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1096291/full |
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