Psychiatry and Psychology in Minnesota

Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorder Program

Mayo Clinic's Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders program provides advanced, evidence-based medical and psychological treatment for anxiety disorders, including:

• Panic disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Social phobia
• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Separation anxiety

Mayo Clinic offers inpatient, outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment programs for anxiety disorders. Treatment is closely coordinated to enable patients to transition smoothly from one level of care to another based on their needs. Mayo's services are designed to provide children and adolescents with 24-hour care for acute stabilization, short-term intensive treatment for families who travel from out of town, as well as standard weekly care.

Outpatient Services

The Mayo Clinic Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders program includes three primary services:

• Child and Adolescent Anxiety Diagnostic Clinic
• Child Outpatient Anxiety Treatment Service
• Intensive Child Anxiety Treatment Service

Child and Adolescent Anxiety Diagnostic Clinic (CADC)
The CADC is a comprehensive, one-day assessment clinic for children and adolescents with heightened anxiety, fears, nervousness and worry. Clinic staff thoroughly evaluate the patient and provide diagnosis and treatment recommendations in a time-efficient manner. A structured diagnostic interview, questionnaires and clinical interviews are used in the evaluation process.

The clinic is staffed by a clinical child and adolescent psychologist and psychiatrist who specialize in anxiety disorders, which allows for an integrated medical and psychological understanding of the child's symptoms.

Child Outpatient Anxiety Treatment Service (COATS)
Cognitive behavioral therapy and medication management are available on an outpatient basis. Psychotherapy treatment consists primarily of exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy. This treatment teaches children skills to manage their anxiety and teaches parents to effectively provide support. With these tools in place, the child and therapist develop a list of situations that cause the child to feel anxious. With the help of the therapist, the child then gradually faces these fears and learns that they can be managed. Treatment typically consists of 10 to 16 sessions completed on a weekly basis.

Intensive Child Anxiety Treatment Service (ICATS)
Treatment for child and adolescent anxiety disorders also is available in an intensive format for families unable to spend extended time at Mayo Clinic. Treatment can be provided in a 10-session format over five days. Therapy also can be offered in multiple blocks of four sessions over two days for patients who travel from lesser distances. The goals of these intensive treatments are to:

1. Teach the child and parents to be experts on anxiety and how behavioral treatment works.
2. Decrease the child's symptoms through successful completion of exposures to anxiety-inducing situations and things.
3. Teach the child and parents how to conduct exposure therapy on their own so they can continue working at home.

Follow-up care is provided via phone or email.

Clinical Trials

Children and families receiving treatment through the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders program can participate in clinical trials. These trials include the development of observational and written diagnostic tools; development and improvement of treatment approaches; understanding the individual and environmental factors that contribute to anxiety disorders; and using neuroimaging to investigate the neurobiology of anxiety disorders.