Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment of Specific Phobias in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

In this chapter, we review evidence-based assessment and treatment for specific phobias in children and adolescents (hereafter referred as children unless otherwise specified). For far too many years, the assessment and treatment of these disorders, and other childhood disorders, have been guided not by evidence but by particular theories, independent of the evidentiary support for them. In this chapter, we illustrate assessment and treatment practices that "work" and that have an ever-evolving evidence base for their use in clinical practice. In doing so, we hope to not only advance our understanding of specific phobias in children and their families but also to identify and promulgate effective interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)