Does manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy have an impact on youth anxiety disorders?

Abstract

An open, pilot clinical trial of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (CAPP), a 24-session, 12-week, manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy, was conducted in 10 patients, ages 8 to 16 years with primary generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, and/or Separation Anxiety Disorder. Study benchmarks, including inclusion/exclusion criteria, outcome measures, and definitions of response were designed to match those of the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS). The goal was to determine whether or not dynamic therapy has a clinical impact on CAMS subjects. Eligible patients were treated in 12-week, twice-weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions. There was one dropout. Subjects improved across all measured outcome domains at treatment termination, and results were sustained at six-month no-treatment follow up. Child and Adolescent Anxiety Psychodynamic Psychotherapy merits further testing, and may be a promising alternative treatment for youth anxiety disorders.