New therapy helps anxious kids before problems grow

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * The child is at risk for anxiety disorders, as indicated by at least one of the following: * the child has behavioral inhibition (as determined by observed behavioral assessment); * the child meets criteria for a DSM-IV or IIIR anxiety disorder (as determined by Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Epidemiologic Version \[K-SADS-E\] with the mother); or * the child has both a parent with lifetime history of anxiety disorder (as determined by direct Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV \[SCID-IV\] with both parents) and the child has anxious symptomatology, as indicated by Child Behavior Checklist \[CBCL\] scale scores (T-scores) on Anxious/Depressed or Withdrawn of 55 or higher. * The child is between the ages of 4 and 7 years * The child and parent(s) have a working command of English Exclusion Criteria: * Psychosis in parent or child * Suicidality in parent or child * Current alcohol or substance abuse in a parent * Mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder in parent or child * Child in current psychiatric treatment * Child judged too uncooperative or distractible to take part in intervention * (In the controlled trial): Child judged clinically unable to wait six months for treatment. The following criteria are used in determining whether the child can wait for 6 months before receiving treatment: * Suicidal Ideation * Serious impairment in eating or sleeping habits * Severe social isolation * Severe impairment in school functioning or attendance * Severe symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) * Clinical judgment based on the child's overall severity of symptoms and family functioning. * All judgments of severity of symptoms/impairment are based on a clinician review of the Kiddie-SADS-E and a clinical evaluation with the family.