Treating Childhood Anxiety with Computers, Not Drugs Monday,
June 11, 2012 TAU leads Attention Bias Modification trials to
address pediatric anxiety disorders According to the Anxiety and
Depression Association of America, one in eight children suffers
from an anxiety disorder. And because many anxious children turn
into severely anxious adults, early intervention can have a
major impact on a patient's life trajectory. The understandable
reluctance to use psychiatric medications when it comes to
children means child psychologists are always searching for
viable therapeutic alternatives. Now Prof. Yair Bar-Haim of Tel
Aviv University's School of Psychological Sciences and his
fellow researchers are pursuing a new method to address
childhood anxiety. Based on a computer program, the treatment
uses a technique called Attention Bias Modification (ABM) to
reduce anxiety by drawing children away from their tendency to
dwell on potential threats, ultimately changing their thought
patterns. In its initial clinical tr