Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

1. What ages of youth are the treatments designed to serve?
2. What is the research background for the treatment programs?
3. Is there a way to receive supervised training in the application of the treatments?
4. Can I make multiple copies of the treatment manual (or other materials)?
5. How many of each do I need?
6. Is there a list of references or papers relevant to the treatment of anxiety in youth?
7. Is there any information available for the ACTION treatment program?

Answers

1. What ages of youth are the treatments designed to serve?

The answer to this question varies according to the treatment program. For example the program for impulsive children is designed for the early elementary school years (e.g., 7 - 12), whereas the anger management program is more for early adolescents (boys in particular). The program for anxiety covers a wider age range as it has a workbook for the younger children (ages 7-13) and a version for teenagers (ages 14-17). Working with children who are depressed can involve cooperation with parents and schools and may be optimal for the middle school years (ages 9-14).

An important part of the answer to the question of the appropriate age of the children for the materials must also mention that age is only a proxy for changes in development, and developmental changes are physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. One of the tasks for the therapist who works with youth is to make adjustments, according to these developmental differences, to any of the treatments that are provided.

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2. What is the research background for the treatment programs?

The developers of the various treatment programs are strong adherents to the notion that treatments should be subject to careful and rigorous evaluation and to have been found to be of some benefit to participants. To varying degrees, such evaluations have been an integral part of the treatment programs. For example, the program for anxiety has been included in several independent books and reviews of the research literature and deemed “probably efficacious” in each case. This label indicates that multiple studies, by different research teams, have used the procedures and reported them to be effective. These published works are available to interested readers.

With regard to the depression program, the treatment that is described is essentially that which was used in at least two studies and reported to be effective. Because the manual and the workbook were written after the studies were reported, the treatment materials have been expanded and can be said to have been improved by the experiences gained in the earlier studies.

The program for impulsivity has been implemented and reported to be successful in the reduction of impulsive responding. These studies, conducted in the schools with impulsive 2nd-5th graders, indicate that positive gains can be achieved. Although the effectiveness of the program with hyperactive (or diagnosed ADHD) children may be a challenge, and specific large-scale research has not been reported, some successful case applications have appeared in the literature. The program also represents a reasonable psychosocial adjunct to medications in the treatment of children with ADHD.

The developers of the anger management program have conducted and reported research on the measurement of anger in youth and have been active providers of treatment to youth with anger control problems. The program is research-based: that is, the components and strategies that are included come from the research literature that identifies specific areas that need to be addressed when working with angry youth (e.g., misattribution of the intentions of others).

In all cases, reprints are available by contacting the individual authors.

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3. Is there a way to receive supervised training in the application of the treatments?

Workshops, provided by the developers of the programs, are available and you may want to check with the authors directly to determine their speaking schedules.For the anxiety program, the answer is “Yes”, supervised training is available. Although the system is only partially in place, there is the possibility that supervision (conducted by phone and with the use of videotaped sessions) can be arranged. Contact Dr. Kendall.

At present, there is not a system in place for supervised training in the other treatment programs. More to come in the future.

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4. Can I make multiple copies of the treatment manual (or other materials)?

NO. Given that the materials are fully copyrighted, and available from the publisher, we cannot grant individuals the right to make copies. In fact, making such copies is specifically against the copyright law.

However, for those conducting dissertation research, please contact us and special consideration will be given to the costs.

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5. How many of each do I need?

Typically, each therapist would need a copy of the treatment manual (to follow and to make notes in). Each participant youth needs a copy of the workbook. They get to put their name in the book, do assignments in it, and keep it for later reference.

Some of the strategies that are described in the manuals and used in the sessions are similar across the programs. However, the programs are highly focused on the identified target problem. If you want to work with anxious youth, then the anxiety program is what you need. Select from the individual, group or family manuals. If your focus is on depressed youth, then the depression program would be most appropriate. If you work with different youth with different problems, then more than one program would be the proper approach. They are focused and targeted programs and they aren’t recommended for application across problem areas.

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6. Is there a list of references or papers relevant to the treatment of anxiety in youth?

Kendall, P.C. & Treadwell, K. (2007). The role of self-statements as a mediator in treatment for anxiety-disordered youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75, 380-389.



Kendall, P. C. & Beidas, R. (2007). Smoothing the trail for dissemination of evidence-based practices for youth: Flexibility within fidelity. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38, 13-20.



Comer, J., & Kendall, P. C. (2007). Terrorism: The psychological impact on youth. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 14, 179-212.



Kendall, P. C. (Ed). (2006). Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures (3rd ed.) New York: Guilford Press.



Suveg, C., Comer, J., Furr, J., & Kendall, P. C. (2006). Adapting manualized CBT for a cognitively-delayed child with multiple anxiety disorders. Clinical Case Studies, 5, 488-510.



Creed, T. & Kendall, P.C. (2005). Empirically supported therapist relationship building behavior within a cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety in youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 498-505.



Kendall, P.C., Robin, J., Hedtke, K., Suveg, C., Flannery-Schroeder, E., & Gosch, E. (2005). Considering CBT with anxious youth? Think exposures. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 12, 136-148.



Barmish, A. & Kendall, P. C. (2005). Should parents be co-clients in cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious youth? Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34, 569-581.



Kendall, P.C., Safford, S., Flannery-Schroeder, E., & Webb, A. (2004). Child anxiety treatment: Outcomes in adolescence and impact on substance use and depression at 7.4-year follow-up. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 276-287.



Comer, J., Kendall, P.C., Franklin, M., Hudson, J. & Pimentel, S. (2004). Obsessing/worrying about the overlap between obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in youth. Clinical Psychology Review, 24 663-683.



Chu, B. & Kendall, P.C. (2004). Positive association of child involvement and treatment outcome within a manual-based cognitive-behavioral treatment for children with anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 821-829.



Kendall, P. C. & Ollendick, T. (2004). Setting the research and practice agenda for anxiety in children and adolescents: A topic comes of age. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 11, 65-74.



Kendall, P. C. & Choudhury, M. (2003). Children and adolescents in cognitive-behavioral therapy: Some past efforts and current advances, and the challenges in our future. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 89-104.



Southam-Gerow, M., Weisz, J., & Kendall, P. C. (2003). Anxiety-disordered youth in research and service clinics: Examining client differences and similarities. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 375-385.



Kendall, P. C. & Kessler, R. C. (2002). The impact of childhood psychopathology interventions on subsequent substance abuse: Policy implications, comments and recommendations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70,



Southam-Gerow, M. & Kendall, P. C. (2002). Emotion regulation and understanding: Implications for child psychopathology and therapy. Clinical Psychology Review, 22, 189-222.



Southam-Gerow, M., Kendall, P. C. & Weersing, V. R. (2001). Examining outcome variability: Correlates of treatment response in a child and adolescent anxiety clinic. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 30, 422-436.



Kendall, P. C. & Chu, B. C. (2000). Retrospective self-reports of therapist flexibility in a manual-based treatment for youths with anxiety disorders. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29 209-220.



Southam-Gerow, M. & Kendall, P. C. (2000). Emotion understanding of youths referred for treatment of anxiety disorders. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 319-327.



Flannery-Schroeder, E., & Kendall, P. C. (2000). Group and individual cognitive-behavioral treatments for youth with anxiety disorders: A randomized clinical trial. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 251-278.



Kendall, P. C., Marrs-Garcia, A., Nath, S., & Sheldrick, R. C. (1999). Normative comparisons for the evaluation of clinical significance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 285-299.  



Kendall, P. C. Chu, B., Gifford, A., Hayes, C. & Nauta, M. (1998). Breathing life into a manual. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 5, 177-198.



Kendall, P. C., Flannery-Schroeder, E., Panichelli-Mindel, S., Southam-Gerow, M., Henin, A., & Warman, M. (1997). Therapy for youths with anxiety disorders: A second randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 366-380.



Kendall, P. C. & Sugarman, A. (1997). Attrition in the treatment of childhood anxiety disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 883-888.



Treadwell, K. R. H. & Kendall, P. C. (1996). Self-talk in anxiety-disordered youth: States-of-mind, content specificity, and treatment outcome. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 941-950.



Kendall, P. C. & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (1996). Long-term follow-up of a cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety-disordered youth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 724-730.



Howard, B. & Kendall, P. C. (1996). Cognitive-behavioral family therapy for anxiety-disordered children: A multiple-baseline evaluation. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 20, 423-444.



Kendall, P. C. & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (1995). Issues in the transportability of treatment: The case of anxiety disorders in youths. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 702-708.



Treadwell, K. R. H., Flannery, E. C., & Kendall, P. C. (1995). Ethnicity and gender in relation to adaptive functioning, diagnostic status, and treatment outcome in children from an anxiety clinic. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 9, 373-384.



Kendall, P. C. (1994). Treating anxiety disorders in youth: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 100-110.



Kendall, P. C. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral therapies with youth: Guiding theory, current status, and emerging developments. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 235-247.



Kendall, P. C., Kortlander, E., Chansky, T. E., & Brady, E. U. (1992). Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in youth: Treatment implications. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 869-880.

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7.Is there any information available for the ACTION treatment program?

The ACTION treatment program was evaluated in a five year investigation funded by the NIMH. The sample consisted of 158 girls between the ages of 9 and 14 who were experiencing either MDD (n=134), DD(n=22), or DDNOS(n=2). The majority of the participants (64%) were experiencing at least one additional comorbid disorder.  The sample was racially and ethnically diverse. Results indicate that the ACTION program is very effective as 82% of the participants who completed the program were no longer depressed at posttesting.  In comparison, only 47% of the participants in the minimal contact control condition were no longer depressed following the 11 week no treatment period.

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