Delivering solid treatments on shaky ground: Feasibility study of an online therapy for child anxiety in the aftermath of a natural disaster

Abstract

Objective: To assess feasibility of online cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with anxiety in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Method: 42 children and adolescents with clinical anxiety referred from primary care were invited to complete an internet CBT program (BRAVE-ONLINE). Outcome measures and assessment timelines were chosen to allow a comparison of the results with the program developers’ randomised controlled trials. Results: At 6-month post intervention, more than half (55%) of the 33 participants assessed, no longer met criteria for their primary anxiety disorder. The mean number of anxiety diagnoses dropped from 2.76 (SD = 0.85) at baseline to 1.06 (SD = 1.25) at follow-up (z = −4.51, p