What is SPACE Supportive Parenting?

SPACE stands for "Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions." The treatment was developed at the Yale Child Study Center by Dr. Eli Lebowitz. SPACE is a compassionate and evidence-based approach designed to help parents provide unwavering support to their child while they navigate the complex landscape of anxiety. It's an approach rooted in understanding, empathy, and practical strategies that aim to empower both you and your child to cope with anxious thoughts and feelings. In SPACE, parents participate in treatment without their child to learn the tools they need to foster resilience in their children. Through a structured approach, SPACE teaches parents how to change their own behavior so that they can best support and respond to their child’s anxiety. By reducing an ‘accommodating’ approach to a child’s anxiety, parents are able to engage in a manner that ultimately grows the child’s ability to cope with anxious thoughts and feelings.

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The Treatment:​

1. Understanding Anxiety: SPACE begins by looking at the big picture of what anxiety is and how it manifests in children.

2. Emotional Validation: SPACE emphasizes the importance of validating your child's feelings. By acknowledging their anxiety without judgment, you create a safe space for them to express their emotions.

3. Resilience Building: Through SPACE, you'll learn how to help your child build resilience by offering support and reducing accommodations. Accommodations are often used with the best intentions as a way to reduce anxious feelings in the short term. Reducing accommodations encourages children to learn they can handle their uncomfortable feelings and build the tools they need to manage those feelings.

4. Gradual Exposure: SPACE gently introduces your child to anxiety-provoking situations in a gradual and supportive manner, allowing them to develop confidence and reduce their anxiety over time.​

• Confidence and Independence: SPACE encourages your child to become more confident in facing anxiety-inducing situations, fostering a sense of independence and self-assuredness.

 

Is SPACE Right for You and Your Child?

SPACE Supportive Parenting is suitable for parents of children dealing with various levels of anxiety. It can be particularly beneficial for children who struggle with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, specific phobias, OCD or separation anxiety.

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To schedule a 15 phone call about SPACE treatment with Jessica, click here