Not All Anxiety Therapy Is Created Equal
When your child is struggling with anxiety, it’s natural to want relief—and fast. But as many families quickly discover, not all therapy is created equal. If you’ve ever wondered why your child’s anxiety isn’t getting better despite months of counseling, it might not be about who they’re seeing but how they’re being treated.
At The LiveWell Collective, we believe that anxiety therapy should be more than just “talking about feelings.” The process matters and it can make all the difference.
More Than Just Support: Understanding the Difference
Kids and teens need a space where they feel safe, heard, and supported. While emotional support is important, it’s not enough to actually treat anxiety.
That’s where evidence-based approaches come in.
Supportive therapy often involves open-ended conversations about feelings, stress, or talking about things like what happened that week. While this can offer temporary relief, it doesn’t always move the needle when it comes to anxiety symptoms. In fact, without a clear roadmap, some kids may leave therapy feeling validated but still stuck.
Evidence-based therapy, like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), goes deeper. These treatments are structured, skills-focused, and backed by decades of research. CBT helps children identify and shift unhelpful thinking patterns, while ERP—considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD and phobia-based anxiety—teaches them how to face their fears with support and confidence, not avoidance or accommodation.
According to the IOCDF and the ADAA, CBT and ERP are considered first-line treatments for anxiety disorders and OCD-related conditions. These approaches are not just about expressing feelings, they're about building skills that change the way the brain responds to fear and worry.
A Closer Look: CBT & ERP vs. Talk and Play Therapy
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Primary Focus: Processing emotions, building insight
Therapist Role: Reflective listener
Long-Term Goal: Emotional validation and support
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Primary Focus: Symbolic expression through play
Therapist Role: Observer or play partner
Long-Term Goal: Increased emotional expression and regulation
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Primary Focus: Identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and behaviors
Therapist Role: Coach, educator, guide
Long-Term Goal: Develop coping tools to change thinking and behavior
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Primary Focus: Gradual, supported exposure to feared thoughts/situations without using safety behaviors or compulsions
Therapist Role: Partner in exposure, helps guide and monitor response
Long-Term Goal: Build tolerance for anxiety and reduce fear-driven behaviors
CBT helps children recognize anxious thoughts, evaluate how realistic those thoughts are, and shift behaviors accordingly. ERP goes one step further for conditions like OCD, teaching children to face anxiety-provoking situations head-on while resisting the urge to engage in safety behaviors, rituals, or avoidance.
These interventions change the brain by building new learning experiences. Children discover that they can feel distress and still move forward.
Backed by Research, Not Just Belief
The IOCDF emphasizes that ERP is the gold-standard treatment for OCD, and is also highly effective for related anxiety disorders, including phobias, social anxiety, and health anxiety. The ADAA also cites CBT as the most effective psychotherapy for anxiety disorders, reporting that up to 60-80% of people experience a significant reduction in symptoms with CBT.
These therapies are structured, measurable, and time-limited. They’re not designed to continue indefinitely. Instead, they aim to empower your child with the tools and confidence they need to become their own therapist, long after sessions have ended.
The LiveWell Collective: Evidence-Based, Compassionate Care
At The LiveWell Collective, we do more than create space for feelings - we teach kids and teens how to face their fears with tools that work. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT and ERP, our therapists guide each child through a personalized, skills-focused plan designed to reduce anxiety and build resilience. And because anxiety rarely exists in isolation, we walk alongside parents too, with the structure and support they need to help their child thrive.
Whether you’re just beginning the therapy process or seeking care that aligns with research-backed methods, we’re here to help your child live well with anxiety - not just manage it.
Explore our services or reach out for a consult today. Effective help exists, and we’d be honored to provide it.
