Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions affecting children and adolescents, and they take a big toll.
- Anxiety disorders can be treated successfully, but not every child has access to care.
- When untreated, anxiety disorders are often a precursor to other mental health problems
- Anxiety disorders are the biggest drivers of health care costs for individuals under the age of 18.
In PCAY, we are helping community clinicians (nurses and pediatricians) to identify youth who may need help with anxiety.
- Kids will be identified in places where they already receive routine care.
- With this approach, we hope to identify more anxious youth and to intervene earlier in the course of illness.
- Participating youth receive one of two treatments: Cognitive behavior therapy, a skills-focused type of talk therapy, OR this same therapy combined with medication.
- We use flexible approaches with the goal of achieving remission.
- Remission means your child no longer has an anxiety disorder.
- Kids who remit from an anxiety disorder do better as they grow up.
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Youth are eligible for PCAY if they:
- Are between the ages of 7-17 years
- Have a primary diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, and/or generalized anxiety disorder, and/or social anxiety disorder.
- Have a primary caretaker who can participate in treatment as needed and is legally able to provide consent
- Are medically cleared by their pediatrician to participate.
- Speak either English or Spanish.
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