Lloyd 1

Kristen Lloyd

Senior Project Research Paper

8 February 2018

Benefits of Therapy for Children With Mental Illnesses

Mental illness is all around us. Approximately one in four adults in the world suffer from

mental illness and nearly one in five americans do (WHO, Bekiempis). There are many different

types of mental illnesses and therefore many different types of treatment options. One of these

options is therapy. Therapy is one of the most effective treatment options for multiple mental

illnesses. This is a very viable option especially for young children, as medication is something

to be wary of. Many parents and doctors are wary of medication because of the ever changing

brain of children and the possible suppression for growth (Harvard Mental Health Letter). This

paper will discuss anxiety, ADHD, depression and autism and how they affect children. It will

also discuss why therapy is a good option for treatment.

Have you ever sensed danger that you could not tell whether it was real or imaginary?

That could be defined as anxiety, according to Allan S. Berger from the National Association for

the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This fear is something that every child is born with

yet most can lead normal lives later in their life. But this is not the case for all. According to the

Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety affects 18.1% of the adult American

population (Bubrick). Anxiety in early childhood is a mental process that is necessary for

survival (Montgomery). The anxiety that a toddler feels if they do not see their parent in the

grocery store, for example, is crucial because the child’s support system is lost. This anxiety

helps the child grow and teaches them how to deal with real world dangers (Berger).
 Lloyd 2

Even though every child is born with anxiety and experiences it in their first years of life,

they grow out of the persistent feeling of it. It is only once the anxiety doesn’t go away and gets

severe enough that it interferes with their daily life that therapy is introduced as an option for

treatment. Therapy is a very effective way to treat severe anxiety, “in fact, research over more

than 20 years has shown that CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is the most effective treatment

for reducing symptoms of severe anxiety (Bubrick). Therapy offers ways to cope with the

anxiety instead of only treating it. Cognitive behavioral therapy has two sections: helping the

patient to change their thinking patterns and behaviorally help the patients come in to contact

with their fears (Zasio).This is accomplished by using techniques based off an approach called

Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy. ERP takes an individual’s fear and having them

face it until they become unafraid of it. As Dr. Zasio of the Anxiety Treatment Center states,

“repeatedly facing one’s fears and learning to manage the uncomfortable feelings and thoughts

associated with these fears allows the anxiety to gradually fade away” (Zasio). This slowly eases

the individual into comfortableness around such fears.

Another mental illness that often goes hand in hand with anxiety is an attention deficit

disorder, either ADD or ADHD. Frequently ADD/ADHD goes undiagnosed in young children as

the behavior is dismissed as just rambunctious and energy-filled. This leads to many problems

both in the child and their life around them. One mother stated in an interview with

ADDitudemag.org that, “At home, life was difficult — as it is for many families with children

with ADHD” (Morrison). The outcry of families and teachers of children with these disorders led

the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) to update guidelines for diagnosing a child with

ADD/ADHD. These updates included younger children and how to treat them at certain ages.

For young children, ages 4 and 5, “the first line of treatment should be behavior therapy” (AAP).
 Lloyd 3

Most professionals are wary of drug treatment because of the young age but, “there is increasing

evidence that treating ADHD symptoms in preschoolers with behavior therapy can be extremely

effective, even for children with a high degree of ADD-related impairment” (Schustuff). Therapy

has been proven to work very well for children as young as 4 with an attention deficit disorder

(Schustuff). This type of therapy is different from CBT, used for anxiety. The most common

form of therapy to treat attention deficit disorders is ‘parent training in behavior therapy’. The

overview is that therapists work with parents to teach them skills in how to manage their child

(CDC). This therapy has been proven very successful as “studies have shown that families who

receive training in behavior therapy notice improvements for several years after treatment”

(CDC). Studies are ongoing but the evidence is quite clear that therapy is a very good treatment

option for children suffering from ADD or ADHD. This therapy is different from CBT as this

type of therapy is more parent-oriented. Having parent involvement keeps the child progressing

always as long as the parent is involved.

These mental disorders are not mutually exclusive, as one child can have multiple mental

disorders even from a young age. Depression is often one of these disorders that accompanies

others like the ones talked about previously. Just like with anxiety, episodes of sadness are

natural in all children and should be expected as they age. But, “childhood depression is more

than just feeling sad, blue or low” (Raising Children Network). There is not much research on

young children with depression but as “ approximately 4% of preschoolers in the United States

today [suffer from depression], with the number diagnosed increasing by 23% every year,” there

is more research everyday (Muller). There are limited resources for a child with depression, but

therapy is one of those. CBT has been shown in clinical trials “to be effective in the treatment of

mild to moderate MDDs in children and adolescents” (Giardino). CBT works for depression
 Lloyd 4

rather than parent involvement or exposure therapy because depression is behavior oriented. The

patient can take the behavior adaptations they learn through CBT and improve their life by

following them.

Autism is one of the mental illnesses with the highest percentage of children diagnosed.

A study from the CDC “identified 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) as having

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)” (CDC). As with depression, autism is not a mutually exclusive

mental illness:

As a group, children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a higher rate

of psychiatric disorders than that of the general population. Research suggests that autism

shares a genetic basis with several major psychiatric disorders. These include attention

deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, bipolar disorder and

schizophrenia. Other research suggests that just over two-thirds of children with autism

have been diagnosed with one or more psychiatric disorders. The most common include

anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and ADHD (Autism Response Team).

As genetically shown, often autism is linked with other mental illnesses. This is not the case for

every person with autism, but it is very common. CBT and other behavioral therapies are the

most common treatment with children with autism. They may do this along with speech therapy,

occupational therapy, and social skills training. To help with the neurological side, CBT is “ the

foundation of treatment for most children on the autism spectrum” (Autism Speaks). Autism can

be diagnosed in very young children, from around age 2. Early intervention is the absolute best

method to help the child grow up in a better life. This includes the behavioral therapy treatments

(Autism Speaks). CBT gives the children a way to learn what behaviors they posses and how
 Lloyd 5

they can change them to become better. Using different therapies along with CBT at a young age

will give a child with autism the best chance at life and understanding themselves.

Therapy has been shown for many mental illnesses to show promising results and

changes in its users. Young children can be given a new way of life if they were born with a

mental illness through therapy and other programs that work in tandem with therapy. Anxiety,

ADHD, depression and autism can be helped through therapy, especially at a young age.

Different types of therapy may be introduced to a child depending on their illness and how

severe it is. It takes some trial and error for each individual case but overall therapy, namely

CBT, ERP, and parent training therapy, can help those children suffering with mental illnesses.

Annotated Bibliography

Bekiempis, Victoria. “Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Suffers From Mental Illness Each Year.”Newsweek, 4

Mar. 2014, www.newsweek.com/nearly-1-5-americans-suffer-mental-illness-each-year-230608.

 Lloyd 6

Berger, Allan S. “Anxiety in Young Children.” Young Children, vol. 27, Oct. 1971, pp. 5–11.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42643271?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Harvard Health Publishing. “ADHD Update: New Data on the Risks of Medication.” Harvard Health,

Oct. 2006, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/adhd-update-new-data-on-the-risks-of-

medication.

Jerry Bubrick, PhD, is the senior director of the Anxiety Disorders Center and director of the Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder Service at the Child Mind Institute. “Treating Anxiety in Children |
Behavioral Treatment.” Child Mind Institute, childmind.org/article/behavioral-treatment-kids-
anxiety/.
Montgomery, John. “Emotions, Survival, and Disconnection.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 30
Sept. 2012, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-embodied-mind/201209/emotions-survival-
and-disconnection.
Muller, Robert T. “Not Just a Phase: Depression in Preschoolers.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,
14 June 2013, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201306/not-just-phase-
depression-in-preschoolers.
Raising Children Network (RCN); jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia; sector=non-government.
“Depression: children 3-8 years.” Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting
website, CorporateName=Raising Children Network (RCN);
jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia; sector=Non-Government,
raisingchildren.net.au/articles/depression_children.html.
Schusteff, Arlene. “Is Preschool Too Early to Diagnose ADHD?” ADDitude, ADDitude, 5 Jan. 2018,
www.additudemag.com/preschoolers-adhd/.
“Autism Speaks.” Autism Prevalence | Autism Speaks, 24 July 2012, www.autismspeaks.org/what-
autism/prevalence.
“Autism therapies and supports.” Autism Speaks, 24 July 2012, www.autismspeaks.org/what-
autism/learn-more-autism/autism-therapies-supports.
“CDC Features.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 18 Sept. 2017, www.cdc.gov/features/adhd-awareness/index.html.
“Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy.” The Anxiety
Treatment Center, anxietytreatmentexperts.com/cbt-exposure-response-prevention-therapy/
“Mental Disorders Affect One in Four People.” WHO, World Health Organization, 2001,

www.who.int/whr/2001/media_centre/press_release/en/.

“Pediatric Depression Treatment & Management.” Pediatric Depression Treatment &

Management: Approach Considerations, Psychotherapy, General Considerations in
Antidepressant Pharmacotherapy, 15 Nov. 2017, emedicine.medscape.com/article/914192-
treatment
 Lloyd 7

“Preschool developmental milestones.” Children's Therapy and Family Resource Centre,

www.kamloopschildrenstherapy.org/autism-red-flags-preschool.
“Treatment for Associated Psychiatric Conditions.” Autism Speaks, 24 July 2012,
www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/treatment/treatment-associated-psychiatric-conditions