Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Clinic

The treatment provided through Mayo Clinic's Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Clinic is based on the latest research on how to treat childhood anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) effectively and efficiently.

Studies from Mayo Clinic's Pediatric Anxiety Disorders Laboratory have shown that Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms and improve functioning in children and adolescents. Our research also shows that more intensive treatments can be more effective. That means families can make meaningful progress in less time.

Mayo Clinic researchers continue to study anxiety disorders and OCD to improve care and expand access to treatment. Current research focuses on how treatment is delivered, factors that affect anxiety and ways technology can support care.

Developing parent-coached exposure therapy

To provide better options for children with anxiety disorders and OCD, a team of Mayo Clinic researchers and therapists reviewed how treatment is typically delivered. The team found that exposure therapy was the most important part of treatment (Ale et al., 2015; Whiteside et al., 2020). Based on these findings, the team developed a pilot study of parent-coached exposure therapy. The pilot suggested that it would be possible to help youth improve more quickly if exposure therapy started early and included parents (Whiteside et al., 2015).

Researchers then developed a clinical trial to compare Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy with traditional cognitive behavioral therapy. In the study, children and teens ages 7 to 17 received one of the two treatments. Researchers measured progress halfway through treatment and again 14 weeks after treatment started.

Researchers found clear differences between the two treatment approaches. Children who received Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy:

• Experienced more improvement.
• Improved faster.
• Needed fewer appointments.
• Participated more fully in daily activities.
• Often began to improve soon after starting exposure exercises.

Research suggests that Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy works well for both children and teens, including those with more severe symptoms. (Whiteside et al., 2024).

Additional studies from Mayo Clinic show that both our five-day intensive treatment program and once-weekly group treatment program can lead to significant improvement in anxiety and OCD symptoms. (Whiteside et al., 2014; Whiteside et al., 2018; Brennan et al., 2023)

Selected bibliography

• Ale, C. M., McCarthy, D. M., Rothschild, L., & Whiteside, S. P. H. (2015). Components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Related to Outcome in Childhood Anxiety Disorders. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 18, 240-251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-015-0184-8
• Brennan, E., Bailey, K. J., Biggs, B. K., Cunningham, M. L., Dammann, J. E., Reneson-Feeder, S. T., Tiede, M. S., & Whiteside, S. P. H. (2023). An Uncontrolled Investigation of the Feasibility of Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy for Youth with Anxiety Disorders. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32, 1681-1693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-022-02396-w
• Gloe, L. M., Biggs, B. K., Geske, J. R., Reneson-Feeder, S. T., Dammann, J. E., Hofschulte, D. R., & Whiteside, S. P. H. (2026). Effects of Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy Versus CBT on Avoidance, Impairment, and Remission in Childhood Anxiety. Behavior Therapy, 57(1), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2025.07.002
• Gloe, L. M., Biggs, B. K., Lipinski, A. W., Pejic, J., Kor, A. K., Knapp, J., Lin, A. J., & Whiteside, S. P. H. (2025). Session Content in Parent-Coached Exposure Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Anxiety Disorders. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23794925.2025.2579294
• Whiteside, S. P. H., McKay, D., De Nadai, A. S., Tiede, M. S., Ale, C. M., & Storch, E. A. (2014). A baseline controlled examination of a 5-day intensive treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 220(1-2), 441-446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2014.07.006
• Whiteside, S. P. H., Ale, C. M., Young, B., Dammann, J., Tiede, M. S., & Biggs, B. K. (2015). The feasibility of improving CBT for childhood anxiety disorders through a dismantling study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 73, 83-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2015.07.011
• Whiteside, S. P. H., Biggs, B. K., Geske, J. R., Gloe, L. M., Reneson-Feeder, S. T., Cunningham, M., Dammann, J. E., Brennan, E., Ong, M. L., Olsen, M. W., & Hofschulte, D. R. (2024). Parent-coached exposure therapy versus cognitive behavior therapy for childhood anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 104, 102877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102877
• Whiteside, S. P. H., Dammann, J. E., Tiede, M. S., Biggs, B. K., & Hillson Jensen, A. (2018). Increasing Availability of Exposure Therapy Through Intensive Group Treatment for Childhood Anxiety and OCD. Behav Modif, 42(5), 707-728. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445517730831
• Whiteside, S. P. H., Gloe, L. M., & Biggs, B. K. (2026). Differentiating the Course of Symptom Improvement Between Two Treatments for Childhood Anxiety Disorders. J Clin Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.70140
• Whiteside, S. P. H., Sim, L. A., Morrow, A. S., Farah, W. H., Hilliker, D. R., Murad, M. H., & Wang, Z. (2020). A Meta-analysis to Guide the Enhancement of CBT for Childhood Anxiety: Exposure Over Anxiety Management. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 102-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00303-2

Publications

See a list of publications about child and adolescent anxiety disorders and OCD by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.