Welcome to the Child and Adolescent Treatment and Research Programs
at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University
The Child and Adolescent Program at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (Child CARD) offers clinical services to young people experiencing difficulty with fears, anxiety, shyness, and other related disorders such as depression.
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The Child CARD clinic provides comprehensive evaluations and state-of-the-art cognitive-behavioral therapy and other evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents between the ages of 3 and 17. Treatments are offered both in person and via telehealth from the comfort of your home. For more information on the conditions we treat click here.
Families interested in services through the child program may start the process by completing our online child intake form. Upon receipt of this form, one of our staff members will contact you within 3-5 business days to schedule a phone screen to discuss next steps regarding child diagnostic assessments, individual and group therapy, including our Brave Bunch program, intensive treatments, and/or opportunities to participate in our research studies. At that time, we can answer any questions you may have about our program and we’ll gather additional information to help inform whether Child CARD is the right fit for your family. Please be advised that due to an extremely high demand for services, the wait time to receive services through Child CARD may be close to 12 months. Given our lengthy waitlist, our staff can also provide referrals to other local mental health providers. We invite you to reach out to our intake coordinator at childbu@bu.edu with questions.
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At this time, we are excited to offer a novel Storybook Intervention Study for 4-7 year-olds with Anxiety. Is your young child anxious or fearful? Does their anxiety ever get in the way for them or your family? They may be eligible to participate in an intervention research study completely from home. This study seeks to understand whether a storybook can teach children, and their caregivers, important information and skills for managing the child’s anxiety and avoidance. If your child is between 4-7 years old, and you are interested in learning more, please contact Laura Nelson Darling at 617-353-9610 or ljnelson@bu.edu.
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The program also regularly collaborates with schools and community-based agencies to provide clinical trainings and research-based presentations. We strive to promote the mission to disseminate evidence-based treatments to community settings by training school personnel and mental health clinicians, and by educating parents about the course of childhood anxiety disorders and evidence-based treatment options. Please contact Dr. Donna Pincus at dpincus@bu.edu if you are interested in more information about these options.