Web-Based CBT for Childhood Anxiety: A Family-Led Approach

描述(由申请人提供)：焦虑症是儿童和青少年人群中最常见的心理障碍之一。认知行为疗法(CBT)已经被证明是一种治疗焦虑的循证治疗(EBT)，但对于焦虑的青少年家庭来说，仍然缺乏可用的CBT资源。以技术为基础的干预措施，包括那些专门用于儿童焦虑症治疗的基于CBT的干预措施，显示出有效和高效的巨大前景，但即使是这些干预措施，也缺乏临床医生或自助用户的广泛传播和采用。第一阶段SBIR是对专门为精神健康研究和实践开发复杂技术和治疗开发而指定的特别计划公告的回应，特别强调工具和平台，以改善循证精神健康干预措施的传播和实施。该项目将为有轻度到中度焦虑症状的青少年开发和评估一项互动式家庭治疗计划，该计划可以根据诊断报告和年龄定制。从在线和主机游戏的快速技术进步中得到启示，我们建议基于Web的平台将允许更容易地订阅服务、更丰富的交互能力、更全面的数据监控和内容可伸缩能力。我们的计划将利用一个 自动化格式包括评估和反馈循环，以量身定做现有文献中验证的CBT概念的交付。互动指南将指导评估、治疗和监测依从性和进展的活动模块，家庭个性化化身角色、行为计划、治疗层次和外围技术增强(例如，短信和智能手机应用程序)的创建。如果这项研究中的目标用户社区(焦虑的青少年和他们的父母)接受了这个项目，并证明了它的有效性，我们相信这个名为“基于网络的儿童焦虑CBT：家庭主导的方法”的项目可以广泛地影响CBT的吸引力、可及性和可负担性。该项目的未来阶段将侧重于扩大平台组件和年龄范围，在不同环境(保健中心、学校、儿科医生办公室、家庭直接)对转诊进行更大规模的测试，并允许潜在的商业分销和纵向跟踪。核心软件模式一旦被确立为一种可销售的资源，就可以适应依赖于基于学习和坚持的干预措施的其他条件。在计算机、智能手机和平板电脑技术日益普及和日常使用的时代，商机的前景意义重大。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Anxiety Disorders are some of the most commonly occurring psychological disorders among child and adolescent populations. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be an Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT) to treat anxiety, but there continues to be a lack of available CBT resources for families with anxious youth. Technology-based interventions, including those specifically CBT-based for child anxiety treatment, have shown great promise as being effective and efficient, but even these interventions lack wide spread dissemination and adoption by clinicians or self-help users. This Phase I SBIR is in response to a special Program Announcement designated for the development of Complex Technologies and Therapeutics Development for Mental Health Research and Practice with specific emphasis Tools and Platforms to Improve the Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-Based Mental Health Interventions. This project will develop and evaluate an interactive home treatment program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety symptoms that can be tailored across diagnostic presentations and ages. Taking a cue from the rapid technology advancements in online and console gaming, we propose that a web-based platform will allow easier subscription to services, richer interactive capacity, fuller data monitoring and abilities for content scalability. Our program will utilize an automated format inclusive of assessment and feedback loops that tailor delivery of CBT concepts validated in the extant literature. An interactive guide will direct modules of activitiesto evaluate, treat, and monitor adherence and progress, with families personalizing creation of avatar characters, behavior plans, treatment hierarchies and peripheral technology augments (e.g., text messaging and smart phone applications). If this program is accepted by the targeted user community in this study (anxious youth and their parents), and had demonstrated efficacy, we believe this project, titled "Web-Based CBT for Childhood Anxiety: A Family-Led Approach," can broadly impact the appeal, access and affordability of CBT. Future phases of this project would focus on expanding platform components and age range, larger testing of referrals across settings (health centers, schools, pediatrician offices, family-direct), and allow for potential commercial distribution and longitudinal tracking. Once established as a marketable resource, the core software model could be adapted to other conditions reliant on learning and adherence based interventions. The promise of commercial opportunity is significant in an era in which there is an increasingly widespread access to and everyday use of computers, smart phones, and tablet technologies.