Parents’ difficulties as co-therapists in CBT among non-responding youths with anxiety disorders: Parent and therapist experiences
Abstract
No increased effect has been associated with parent involvement in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for youths with anxiety disorders. The purpose of this study was to explore parent and therapist experiences of CBT among non-responding youths with anxiety disorders, with a primary focus on parent involvement in therapy. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to 24 sets of semi-structured interviews with families and therapists of anxiety-disordered youths who had not profited from CBT with parental inclusion. From the superordinate theme parents’ difficulties acting as co-therapists, which emerged from the analyses, two master themes represented the perspectives of parents ( difficulty working together with the youth and feeling unqualified, with limited resources), and two represented the perspectives of therapists ( family dynamics stood in the way of progress and difficulty transferring control to parents). Parent and therapist experiences complemented each other, offering two different perspectives on parent difficulties as co-therapists. However, the two groups’ views on their respective roles in therapy were in conflict. Parents wished to remain being “just the parents” and for the experts to take over, while therapists wished to act as facilitators transferring the control to parents. Clinical implications are drawn for parental involvement and enhancement of treatment outcomes for likely non-responders.
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Therapists' expectations of parents to be cotherapists were difficult to implement in some cases due to family dynamics and the expectations and resources among the parents.
“The authors concluded that the therapists’ expectations of the parents to be cotherapists were difficult to implement in some cases due to the family dynamics and the expectations and resources among the parents.”
Previous research points to potential connections between parental support and positive treatment outcomes in children and families.
“In previous research, the authors have pointed to potential connections between parental support and positive treatment outcomes in children and families [22], including that some parents need support in their role as cotherapists in treatment [23].”
Some parents need support in their role as cotherapists in treatment.
“In previous research, the authors have pointed to potential connections between parental support and positive treatment outcomes in children and families [22], including that some parents need support in their role as cotherapists in treatment [23].”
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“Moreover, Lundkvist-Houndoumadi et al [23] performed a phenomenological analysis of 24 semistructured interviews with Danish families in which the youth received CBT for anxiety with parental involvement.”
- Authors
- Lundkvist-Houndoumadi, I., Thastum, M., & Nielsen, K.
- Affiliations
- Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark
- Aarhus University (DK)
- ORCID
- Nielsen, Klaus
- Venue
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2015-11-27
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 477-490
- ISSN
- 1359-1045 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7021
- OpenAlex
- W2266241663
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics
- Keywords
- parent involvement in therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, youth anxiety disorders, parent-therapist relationship, family dynamics, parental resources, therapist experience, parental experiences
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Treatment Outcome
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