Single-Session Telehealth Booster for Youth Experiencing a Return of Anxiety After CBT: A Case Series

Abstract

There is a subset of youth who, despite responding well to CBT, experience a return of anxiety in the years after treatment ends. Although empirical research and clinical recommendations have described approaches to prevent a return of anxiety following CBT, to our knowledge, no empirical or clinical articles have evaluated approaches to help youth who have experienced such a return. In this article, we take an initial step toward providing clinical guidance on addressing recurrence in youth with anxiety disorders by describing the development of an approach, a booster session delivered remotely using telehealth, and by presenting promising preliminary data in a case series among three youths who experienced a return of anxiety following CBT. Participants were N = 3 youths ages 10 to 15 years (M = 12 years; 33% male, 33% female, 33% nonbinary) who previously completed a full CBT protocol for anxiety disorders as part of outpatient clinical services in an urban area of the southeastern United States. Parent- and youth-report on youth anxiety severity were assessed pretreatment and posttreatment. Clinical response to the booster among these three families was mixed and varied by informant source, with an overall positive response according to parent ratings and a smaller response according to youth ratings. This case series represents an important first step toward addressing the return of anxiety in youth following CBT, and findings provide the impetus for further development and evaluation work of single session boosters. Limitations and implications of the findings are discussed.