Abstract
This chapter describes how the Taming Sneaky Fears program explains to four- to seven-year-old children and their parents the abstract concept of progressive desensitization or gradual exposure (i.e., How to Climb Bravery Ladders to overcome fears). The concept is discussed with parents in one parent session (P-Session 3) and reviewed extensively in subsequent parent sessions while it is described to the children in two child sessions (C-Sessions 6 and 7). The chapter proposes specific adaptations for selective mutism and social anxiety disorder and emphasizes the usefulness of Bravery Ladders when working with young children with these disorders. The chapter also reviews the approach presented to parents (P-Session 3) on the management of excessive worries in young children.
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- 1.
If parents are in charge of bringing the snacks for the child group sessions, it is typically at that moment that the parent who brings the snack gives it to one of the child group therapists.
- 2.
The Parent Manual is provided as one of the Supplementary Materials in Chap. 6.
- 3.
The Supplementary Child Workbook is provided as one of the Supplementary Materials in Chap. 6.
- 4.
The parent group therapist leading this part of P-Session 3 is aware of the children’s anxiety diagnoses and tailors the information provided to the parents in the group to address the specific fears or phobias that the children exhibit. For example, if at least one child in the group has selective mutism, the parent group therapist carefully reviews the subsection on General Principles and Example of Selective Mutism.
- 5.
The large laminated Bravery Ladder used in Sections “Groups of Children Who Have Various Fears” and “Groups of Children with Selective Mutism and/or Social Anxiety Disorder” is a version of Fig. 25 of the Parent Manual with Velcro glued on to each rung and will need to be created prior to the session; while each laminated step is a picture corresponding to the description of the step with Velcro glued on to the back and it too will need to be created prior to the session.
References
Benoit, D., & Monga, S. (2018a). Apprivoiser les Peurs-pas-fines—L’histoire de bravoure de Léo le lionceau & Dans la tanière de Léo: Le cahier de travail. Victoria, British Columbia: FriesenPress.
Benoit, D., & Monga, S. (2018b). Taming Sneaky Fears: Leo the Lion’s story of bravery & Inside Leo’s den: The workbook. Victoria, British Columbia: FriesenPress.
Huebner, D. (2006). What to do when you worry too much—A kid’s guide to overcoming anxiety. Washington, DC: Magination Press.
Manassis, K. (2008). Keys to parenting your anxious child (2nd ed.). Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series.
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Monga, S., Benoit, D. (2018). The Taming Sneaky Fears Program: How to Climb Bravery Ladders and How to Manage Excessive Worries. In: Assessing and Treating Anxiety Disorders in Young Children. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04939-3_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04939-3_10
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