Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) Therapy Method

Abstract

Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is a parent-focused therapeutic approach designed to address anxiety symptoms in school-aged children and adolescents. Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE targets the dynamics of the parent-child relationship influenced by anxiety, aiming to enhance parental support and reduce children's reliance on maladaptive behaviors. The therapy emphasizes modifying parental responses to anxious behaviors and gradually diminishing habitual avoidance patterns in children, fostering their ability to self-regulate emotions. Conducted over 10-12 weeks, SPACE involves only parents in sessions, making it particularly suitable for children reluctant to participate in therapy. The process is semi-structured, comprising eight core stages—ranging from introducing the therapy and identifying adaptive parental behaviors to implementing behavior change plans and concluding with a summary of progress—alongside five optional session modules tailored to specific needs, such as teaching anxiety regulation strategies or addressing severe behaviors like self-harm. Grounded in nonviolent resistance principles, SPACE empowers parents to alter their own behaviors rather than directly controlling the child’s actions, promoting sustainable change. International research, including randomized controlled trials and case studies, supports SPACE’s efficacy in reducing anxiety symptoms, with comparable outcomes to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and notable effectiveness for conditions likeanxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and eating disorders.

Keywords

• childhood
• anxiety disorder
• obsessive compulsive disorder
• parent-based intervention

Kaygılı Çocukluk Duyguları İçin Destekleyici Ebeveynlik (KÇDDE) Terapi Yöntemi

Öz

Kaygılı Çocukluk Duyguları için Destekleyici Ebeveynlik (KÇDDE), okul çağındaki çocuklar ve ergenlerde anksiyete semptomlarını ele almak için tasarlanmış ebeveyn odaklı bir terapi yaklaşımıdır. Yale Çocuk Çalışma Merkezi’nde Dr. Eli Lebowitz tarafından geliştirilen KÇDDE, anksiyeteden etkilenen ebeveyn-çocuk ilişkisinin dinamiklerini hedefleyerek ebeveynlerin çocuklarına daha iyi destek sağlamasını amaçlar. Terapi, ebeveynlerin kaygılı davranışlara tepkilerini değiştirmeye ve çocukların alışılagelmiş kaçınma kalıplarını kademeli olarak azaltmaya odaklanarak çocukların duygularını kendi kendilerine düzenleme yeteneklerini geliştirmeyi teşvik eder. 10-12 hafta süren KÇDDE, yalnızca ebeveynlerin katıldığı oturumlarla yürütülür ve bu da özellikle terapiye katılmakta isteksiz çocuklar için uygun bir seçenek sunar. Süreç yarı yapılandırılmıştır ve sekiz temel aşamadan oluşur: terapinin tanıtılmasından, ebeveynlerin uyarlayıcı davranışlarının belirlenmesine, davranış değiştirme planlarının uygulanmasına ve ilerlemenin özetlenmesiyle sonuçlanmaya kadar. Ayrıca, anksiyete düzenleme stratejileri öğretme veya kendine zarar verme gibi ciddi davranışları ele alma gibi özel ihtiyaçlara göre uyarlanmış beş isteğe bağlı oturum modülü içerir. Şiddetsiz direnç ilkelerine dayanan KÇDDE, ebeveynlerin çocuğun eylemlerini doğrudan kontrol etmek yerine kendi davranışlarını değiştirmelerini güçlendirerek sürdürülebilir değişimi teşvik eder. Uluslararası araştırmalar, randomize kontrollü çalışmalar ve vaka çalışmaları dahil, KÇDDE’nin anksiyete semptomlarını azaltmada etkili olduğunu desteklemekte olup Bilişsel Davranışçı Terapi (BDT) ile karşılaştırılabilir sonuçlar sunmakta ve anksiyete bozukluğu, obsesif-kompulsif bozukluk, otizm spektrum bozukluğu ve yeme bozuklukları gibi durumlarda dikkat çekici etkinlik göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• çocukluk çağı
• anksiyete bozukluğu
• obsesif kompulsif bozukluk
• ebeveyn temelli müdahale

Kaynakça

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