Virtual Intensive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Anxiety: A Case Study of Treatment for Specific Phobia

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in adolescents, and they can have profound effects on adolescents’ well-being. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been established as the gold-standard treatment for adolescent anxiety disorders due to its effectiveness in reducing adolescents’ anxiety and associated impairments. In recent years, intensive CBT protocols have emerged for treating adolescent anxiety. The content of these treatments typically reflects conventional CBT protocols, but treatment is provided over a shorter period or through fewer sessions, with the goal of providing patients with more immediate relief. As one example of such treatments, the principal investigator of the study developed and piloted an intensive CBT treatment for adolescent anxiety (IT-CBT) that exhibited marked efficacy in treating youth with a range of anxiety disorders. To further expand the accessibility of the treatment, a randomized controlled trial comparing the in-person and virtual delivery of this treatment was initiated. To illustrate IT-CBT’s potential utility as a virtual treatment, this case study describes a 15-year-old girl with a specific phobia of vomiting and subclinical generalized anxiety symptoms who completed IT-CBT virtually. Results from this adolescent case example and others suggest that virtual IT-CBT may be feasible and efficacious for treating adolescent anxiety disorders.