SPACE Empowers Parents to Help Anxious Children Flourish
A mother and school-age daughter overcome anxiety and build independence with help from a JFS parenting program.
Single mom Erin Harris (names changed for privacy) was at her wits’ end. Her 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, just could not seem to sleep in her own bed. Too anxious to sleep, she would climb in with Harris at some point every night. Harris would help her calm down and then gently walk her back to bed—only to reboot the cycle a couple hours later.
“One night, Olivia woke up three times, and I just lost it. I snapped at her,” recalled Harris, a West Hartford, Conn., resident.
“I felt terrible,” Harris confessed. “I try hard to be a supportive mother, and I’m a licensed social worker! I didn’t realize until then how difficult it had become for both of us to manage her anxious behavior.”
When coping strategies backfire
Like a frog in boiling water, what began as a temporary coping strategy had become an obstacle to Olivia’s development. In addition to bedtime challenges, Harris found herself staying with Olivia at birthday parties and hovering as Olivia performed basic, age-appropriate self-care.
The details may differ, but the scenario is familiar: According to the Yale Child Study Center, one in three U.S. youth will experience a clinical anxiety disorder before adulthood. Left untreated, anxiety can lead to poor school performance, depression, substance abuse, failed relationships, physical health problems, and more.
What is SPACE?
Dr. Eli Lebowitz, a professor at the Yale Child Study Center and director of its Program for Anxiety Disorders, developed the SPACE treatment program (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) to help parents manage their children’s anxiety-related behaviors, which in turn helps children develop the confidence to overcome anxiety.
SPACE is designed for parents and caregivers of children ages 3 to 17 with symptoms of generalized anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. A formal diagnosis is not required, but families are screened prior to participation.
Change comes from parents
SPACE focuses on adult education and behavior change, to help parents and caregivers respond more supportively and stop the accommodations that limit children’s development.
“The change had to come from me,” Harris noted. “I started by announcing that we were changing how we did bedtime. I took a tiered approach. At first, Olivia was allowed to come into my bed twice a night. After a few weeks, we cut it back to once a night. Within a couple of months, she stopped completely.”
Despite her initial skepticism, Harris found that SPACE’s positive approach really did promote confidence and behavior change in her daughter. “I learned how to validate her with supportive statements until she could self-regulate.”
SPACE options at JFS
JFS of Greater Hartford offers the SPACE program as group ($350 per family) or one-on-one ($500 flat rate) sessions. All sessions take place at JFS, located at 333 Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford.
“I was hesitant to commit at first—it seemed like a lot of time and money—but it was worth every penny,” said Harris. “In the group sessions, I quickly realized that so many parents in our community are struggling with the same issues. We may have different backgrounds, but the support we give each other is so validating. I would do it again, 150 percent.”
To learn more about SPACE, contact JFS Community Mental Health Liaison Anna Cabrera or complete and submit this form.
