Comparative Effectiveness of Internet-based Versus Parent-Coached Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Children and Adolescents With Anxiety and OCD

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety Disorder of Childhood or Adolescence, Social Anxiety Disorder of Childhood, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Separation Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder (With or Without Agoraphobia), Phobia, Specific

In brief

Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are common and confer significant disability. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the recommended treatment for youth with anxiety, yet many families cannot access CBT due to cost, practicalities of attending in-person treatment sessions, and a shortage of trained providers, especially in rural areas. To combat these barriers, other treatment methods have been developed. Previous research has shown that family-based, internet-delivered CBT (iCBT) for anxiety and OCD in youth has shown a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms. Parent-coached exposure therapy (PCET) focuses entirely on teaching parents and youth together how to address anxiety through the completion of in-session parent-coached exposures and assigning parent-coached exposure as homework in between sessions. Although both iCBT and PCET show positive results in treating pediatric anxiety in comparison to standard-care CBT, little is known about the comparative efficacy of iCBT and PCET. This research is being done to understand the comparative effectiveness of two different types of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating anxiety or OCD in youth.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07024758

Run by

Baylor College of Medicine

People needed

174

Starts

2025-07-01

Expected to finish

2028-06-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-30

Who can join

Age: 7 and older, up to 17. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• The child is between the ages of 7 to 17 years inclusive at enrollment.
• The child has clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and/or OCD, as indicated by a score of 12 or higher on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS).
• The child is appropriate for anxiety-focused treatment (e.g., anxiety or OCD is the primary or co-primary problem as diagnosed using the DIAMOND-KID).
• One parent/guardian is able and willing to participate in assessment and treatment (e.g., has sufficient English fluency, the decisional capacity to participate, and can commit to treatment duration).
• The participating parent/guardian lives with their child at least 50% of the time per self-report.
• Both parent and child can read and understand English.
• The participant has an IQ above 69, based on the KBIT-2, another valid test or clinician judgement (e.g., a previous assessment conducted, and report shared with study team).
• Participants must be in the state of Texas for treatment sessions/assessments.

You may not qualify if…

• The child has a diagnosis of a lifetime psychotic disorder and/or conduct disorder.
• The child has significant, current and active suicidality/homicidality and/or self-injury requiring medical intervention.
• The child has limited verbal communication abilities (e.g., no independent verbal communication).
• The child is receiving concurrent psychotherapy with anxiety and/or OCD as the primary focus. They can pause ongoing therapy to enroll.
• The child has initiated new antidepressant medication within 12-weeks of assessment (4-weeks for stimulants/benzodiazepines/antipsychotics) or during therapy.
• The child has changed psychotropic medication dosage within 4-weeks of assessment (2-weeks for stimulants/benzodiazepines/antipsychotics) or during therapy.
• The child requires a higher level of care than can be provided through the study (e.g., significant, current suicidal ideation).

Where it is running

• Baylor College of Medicine — Houston, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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