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Anxiety disorders, the most prevalent childhood mental health condition, can result in lifelong distress and reduced functioning if not detected and prevented early. Findings from a systematic review of anxiety prevention programs by the Children’s Health Policy Centre suggest five ways to help prevent children from experiencing problematic anxiety.

• Focus on children at risk for anxiety concerns. The successful anxiety prevention programs all focused on children who were at risk for developing problematic anxiety. Efforts to prevent anxiety disorders are more likely to succeed when they focus on children with elevated anxiety or children with a parent who has an anxiety disorder.
• Reach children where they are at. All the programs delivered directly to children took place in schools, typically after classes had ended. This approach has the advantage of engaging with children in locations that do not require travel. As well, after-school programming means children do not have to miss any classroom activities.
• Start with cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT has a very strong record in reducing anxiety symptoms and in preventing the development of anxiety disorders. Prevention efforts should begin with CBT.
• Remember parents. All of the CBT programs featured in this review included parents. Their involvement ranged from participating in multiple group sessions to receiving information on the intervention being delivered to their child and their child’s progress. When parents are involved in prevention programming, children benefit.
• Conduct more research. While the research supporting CBT is very strong, not every child will benefit from this intervention. So other prevention options are needed. The therapeutic computer game MindLight has some evidence of success, so it may be worth considering for children who have not made gains from CBT. Still, new evaluations of MindLight are needed, especially those that are independent from individuals producing or profiting from the game.

This information was originally published in Vol. 18, No. 4 of the Children’s Mental Health Research Quarterly.