As parents, seeing your child struggle with anxiety can be heart-wrenching. You want to do everything you can to help them feel safe and secure. But sometimes, despite your best efforts, it feels like nothing is working. If this sounds familiar, you might be interested in learning about Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE).
What is SPACE?
SPACE is a parent-based treatment program specifically designed to help children and adolescents who experience anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE focuses on empowering parents to create a supportive environment that fosters their child’s independence and resilience. The magic of SPACE lies in its focus on helping the parents change their own behaviors, rather than demanding that the child change.
Who Participates in Treatment? Who is the Patient?
Parents (and caregivers) participate in the treatment, even though their child is considered the patient. In most cases, the child or teen does not need to attend treatment sessions.
How Does SPACE Work?
The core of SPACE is about reducing what we call unhelpful “accommodations.” Accommodations include the ways parents may inadvertently reinforce their child's anxiety, such as providing constant reassurance, avoiding certain situations, or making special arrangements to help their child avoid anxious feelings. While these actions come from a place of love, they can sometimes contribute to maintaining the anxiety.
In SPACE, parents learn to:
Identify accommodating behaviors: Recognize how their actions might be supporting their child's anxiety.
Reduce accommodations gradually: Take small, manageable steps to reduce these behaviors in a way that supports the child’s sense of security.
Offer supportive responses: Respond to their child's anxiety with empathy and confidence, helping them feel understood and capable.
Why SPACE?
Research has shown that SPACE can be highly effective. By focusing on the parents’ role, this treatment not only helps reduce the child's anxiety but also strengthens the overall family dynamic. Parents often find that as they change their responses, their children become more resilient and better able to cope with anxiety.
A Supportive, Empowering Approach
SPACE is not about leaving your child to face anxiety alone. It’s about shifting from a place of accommodating to one of empowering. You’ll be expressing confidence in your child’s ability to handle their fears while still providing them with the emotional support they need.
Is SPACE Right for Your Family?
If your child struggles with anxiety and you’re looking for a new approach, SPACE might be a great fit. It’s designed to be collaborative and tailored to the unique needs of your family. Working with a trained SPACE therapist, you can learn practical strategies to help your child thrive.
SPACE for Special Populations
The SPACE program has been modified to include treatment programs for parents of children with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and for parents of young adults who struggle to transition to independent living (often called the "Failure to Launch" population).
ARFID is characterized by extreme picky eating that can lead to nutritional deficiencies and significant distress. Through SPACE, parents can empower their children to overcome the challenges of ARFID, leading to healthier eating habits and improved well-being.
The "Failure to Launch" population is a group of young adults that often face significant anxiety and difficulty taking on adult responsibilities. SPACE helps parents adjust their responses to their young adult’s anxiety by reducing accommodating behaviors that may unintentionally reinforce dependence. Parents are empowered to support their young adults in overcoming anxiety and embracing independence, leading to a more confident and self-sufficient future.
Learn More
To learn more about SPACE, you can visit the SPACE treatment website here. On that website, you can find additional resources including research articles, books, and videos.
How to Get Started
If you think this approach would be a good fit for you family, I am here to support you on this journey. I have received speciality training in SPACE, including SPACE for ARFID and the FTL population. Together, we can help your child build the confidence and resilience they need to navigate their world with less anxiety and more joy.
Comments