What is SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)?

SPACE is a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents who are struggling with anxiety, OCD, and related problems.

SPACE is an evidence-based treatment developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center. It is a structured treatment program for parents who could benefit from learning skills to assist their children in building confidence and reducing anxiety. SPACE is a short-term treatment, ranging from 8-12 sessions. This treatment is specially designed to work with parents and does not require the child to attend any sessions.

Parents understandably become entangled with their child’s anxiety, resulting in unintentional accommodation, maintenance, and even worsening of symptoms over time. SPACE acknowledges that caregivers play an integral role in supporting young people as they learn to effectively manage anxiety. SPACE honors that parents, too, are impacted by the challenges their children face and aims to provide parents with the necessary support to better respond to their child’s anxiety.

SPACE will focus on:

• Providing psychoeducation about the effective and ineffective ways to respond to their child’s anxiety
• Supporting parents to reduce well-intentioned, yet unhelpful accommodation behaviors
• Enhancing supportive responses

Learn more about SPACE by viewing the video below!