The Taming Sneaky Fears Program: The Pivotal Role of Parents

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the pivotal role that parents play in the success of the Taming Sneaky Fears program with young children. It describes how child group therapists provide and seek feedback on each child’s progress during a brief meeting with each child’s parents at the mid-point in the Taming Sneaky Fears program, i.e., immediately following Session 4 or immediately prior to the start of Session 5. It focuses on parental strategies for managing struggles with oppositional and non-compliant behavior, bedtime, and nighttime waking that young anxious children often display (foci of parent sessions (P-Sessions) 4 and 5). It offers a rationale for providing three review sessions for parents (P-Sessions 5–8), as well as step-by-step instructions for implementing these sessions. Finally, the chapter provides step-by-step guidelines for implementing the last, ‘graduation’ session for both parents and children (P-Session 8 and C-Session 8).