A Danish study of One-session Treatment for Specific Phobias in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Background: One-session treatment (OST) is a short-term massed exposure therapy for the treatment of specific phobias in children and adults. Systematic reviews have demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment for children and adolescents across countries and age groups. Objective: A single-group open trial design was used to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of OST for youths with specific phobias in a Danish context. Method: At the Anxiety Clinic of Aarhus University, 10 youths between the ages of 7 and 17 years who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for specific phobias were treated in accordance with the OST manual. The participants were assessed via semi-structured diagnostic interviews, clinician severity ratings, a behavioral approach test, and self- and parent report measures. Feasibility was assessed with the use of patient- and parent-report measures. Assessments were completed at before and after treatment and at the 3-month follow-up appointment. Results: All outcome measures changed significantly from the pretreatment period to the 3-month follow-up assessment. Four (40%) of the participants were free of the targeted specific phobia after treatment, and eight (80%) were free of the phobia at the 3-month follow-up. The families were moderately satisfied with the treatment, and no patients dropped out of the study. Conclusion: On the basis of the results of this pilot study, it may be tentatively concluded that OST could be useful for the treatment of youths with specific phobias in Denmark.