Observed Exposure in Treatment for Children and Youth with Anxiety: Prevalence and Relations to Outcome

Exposure is the most frequently used common practice element (CPE) across evidence-based methods in the treatment of youth with anxiety disorders. Nevertheless, research indicates that exposure is underutilized and is most often based on therapists’ self-reports. In the present study, we investigated whether observed exposure predicted reductions in anxiety symptoms for 37 youths (7–14 years) in therapy. Data stem from 185 videotaped therapy sessions, which were transcribed for quantitative analysis. Results showed that time spent on exposure strategies was not related to symptom reduction during treatment but significantly predicted symptom reduction at follow-up. Results support existing literature in that exposure may be a key CPE in treatment of anxiety disorders among youth.