One session treatment for specific phobias in children: Comorbid anxiety disorders and treatment outcome.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One-Session Treatment (OST) for specific phobias has been shown to be effective in reducing phobia severity; however, the effect of different types of co-occurring anxiety disorders on OST outcomes is unknown. The present study examined (1) the effects of co-occurring generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), or another non-targeted specific phobia (OSP) on the efficacy of OST for specific phobias, and (2) the effects of OST on these co-occurring disorders following treatment.

METHODS: Three groups of 18 youth (7-15 years) with a specific phobia and comorbid GAD, SAD, or OSP were matched on age, gender, and phobia type. Outcome measures included diagnostic status and severity, and clinician rated improvement.

RESULTS: All groups demonstrated an improvement in their specific phobia following treatment. Treatment was equally effective regardless of co-occurring anxiety disorder. In addition, comorbid anxiety disorders improved following OST; however, this effect was not equal across groups. The SAD group showed poorer improvement in their comorbid disorder than the GAD group post-treatment. However, the SAD group continued to improve and this differential effect was not evident six-months following treatment.

LIMITATIONS: The current study sample was small, with insufficient power to detect small and medium effect sizes. Further, the sample only included a portion of individuals with primary GAD or SAD, which may have attenuated the findings.

CONCLUSIONS: The current study demonstrated that co-occurring anxiety disorders did not interfere with phobia treatment. OST, despite targeting a single specific phobia type, significantly reduced comorbid symptomatology across multiple anxiety disorders.