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Research Assessment #6

Date: ​23 October 2020

Subject: ​Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents

MLA: ​Wehry, Anna M et al. “Assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in children and

adolescents.” Current psychiatry reports vol. 17,7 (2015): 52. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0591-z

Annotations: ​Here

Assessment:

The article "Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Children and

Adolescents" discusses the most prevalent psychological disorders in children and adolescents:

anxiety disorders. Researches suggest that this is a result of specific phobias developing at

younger ages. Studies show that most people with anxiety disorders in their childhood report

comorbidity later on as adults. Both psychotherapy and psychopharmaceutical treatments have

proven to improve symptoms on their own but are even more effective combined. For example,

one study showed that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Sertraline, a Selective

Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI), used simultaneously was 21-26% more effective than

individually. Psychotherapeutic branches such as CBT, Mindfulness, and Psychodynamics have

been proven helpful in decreasing symptoms. Psychiatric prescriptions, including fluoxetine and

paroxetine, have also been reported effective accompanied by possible side effects common in

medication. Recent research has also concluded that demographics, hereditary, and gender help

psychologists predict developments of the disorders.

I find the studies exemplified in the article to be encouraging because there is a variety of

treatments, and most bring excellent results. With a surplus of methods, a psychotherapist needs

to be well versed to recommend one designed for their patients. Previously, I limited my research
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on only Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, therefore missing the value in all branches of

psychotherapy. The article displayed multiple psychotherapeutic and psychiatric treatments, as

well as introduced me to their intricate relationship. While I would prefer promoting cognitive

methods, I now understand that most cases require a blend of the two to maximize results. My

previous research, though specifically on CBT, also concluded that combinations were more

effective. However, this article contradicts others I have read by including data indicating

medication had a more prolonged effect than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy after treatment

completion. I was shocked to read this because my understanding was that cognitive

reconstruction was more long-term since patients would need to rely on the drug to function. I

need to look into why my judgment was wrong, but I believe it is because I failed to recognize

that these drugs are repairing the brain while also providing short-term relief.

As previously stated, the article deems anxiety disorder to be the most populous

psychological disorder present in children and adolescents. I find it discouraging that, besides

this, there are still information gaps in neurobiological causation and treatment response and that

need to be addressed. Furthermore, adolescent psychotherapy is underdeveloped as a whole and

often misinterpreted as being the same as adults. I chose this article to study different treatments

that have been applied and analyzed in children's psychology specifically. Although my new

original work is not fully developed, I want to address the lack of differentiating by examining

different clinical adolescent theories. Before I look closer into these, I focused my first

assessment on the different types of psychotherapeutic methods used to learn more about

successful and popular ones.

After reading the article, I am wondering two questions:​ What differences are there when

applying psychotherapeutic methods on adults versus children? Does prescribing medication at

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a young age have any developmental drawbacks?​ While this assessment focused on different

treatments, I want to study clinical theories concerning adolescents with depression in my next

one. I believe that my original work will be on this niche; therefore, I need to particularize my

studies.