Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents: Recognizing & Treating the Emerging Epidemic

Credit

Speaker

Steven O'Brien, PsyD Related seminars and products

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Steve O’Brien, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with children, adolescents, young adults, and families in his Clearwater, Florida practice. He is a respected national consultant for mental health professionals seeking guidance on the treatment of anxiety and mood disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and adjustment challenges in divorced and blended families.

 

Since 2017, Dr. O’Brien has provided continuing education and professional training for mental health clinicians, focusing on evidence-based interventions for anxiety, depression, and neurodevelopmental disorders in youth. He is the author of The Essential Guide to Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety, a clinical manual designed to enhance treatment outcomes.

 

His integrative-systems approach combines CBT, interpersonal techniques, and exposure/desensitization strategies, all tailored to the developmental needs of young clients and their families. Intensive parent consultation—emphasizing psychoeducation, communication skills, and behavior modification—is a cornerstone of his therapeutic work.

 

Dr. O’Brien has worked in numerous healthcare environments, including community mental health, psychiatric, inpatient/residential, substance abuse, and medical facilities. He also served as associate professor of child-adolescent studies at the Florida School of Professional Psychology. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. O’Brien is an app developer (Life@Home by Psychtouch.com) and a frequent guest on local news outlets for his expertise on childhood anxiety. Visit obrienpsychology.com for more information.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Steven O'Brien maintains a private practice. He receives a speaking honorarium, recording and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Steven O’Brien is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Florida Psychological Association.

Additional Info

For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. You will have access for 90 days after the program for review.

Please note: There will be a lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.

Objectives

1. Apply the “Three Ingredients” framework for understanding how, why, and when anxiety occurs in children.
2. Draw from 10 specific stress-management strategies to target the "when" factor in child and adolescent anxiety.
3. Recommend 8 steps teachers can take to reduce anxiety in the classroom for more focused attention.
4. Implement at least one effective treatment strategy for each of the 7 key anxiety disorders to modify sources of stress.
5. Designate 3 steps that schools can take to create a safe, calm environment for meeting the needs of anxious students.
6. Create a therapeutic alliance with parents to improve the effectiveness of clinical treatment with anxious kids.

Outline

• How anxiety develops in children
• Three ingredients in all anxiety disorders
• The ”anxiety personality” – assets and liabilities

• Separation anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Overanxious disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Social anxiety disorder
• Phobias
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Depression
• ADHD
• Learning disabilities
• Selective mutism

• Cognitive-behavioral
• Biological
• Mindfulness
• Expressive Arts
• Family Systems Approaches

• The Floating Technique for panic anxiety
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD
• Mindfulness for worry
• Solution Focused Intervention for worry
• Group Therapy guidelines for social anxiety
• Visualization Desensitization for separation anxiety
• Three Question Technique for parents struggling with child separation anxiety
• Three Step Technique for managing children’s stress
• Yoga games and breathing techniques for relaxation training
• LifeSkills Program for generalized anxiety
• Virtual Reality approach for phobias
• Baby Buddhas meditations for anxious preschoolers

Target Audience

• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Counselors
• Teachers
• School Administrators
• Occupational Therapists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children