School refusal is a psychosocial problem characterized by a student's difficulty attending school and, in many cases, substantial absence from school (Heyne & Sauter, 2013). It is often distinguished from truancy, in part because of the severe emotional distress associated with having to attend school and the absence of severe antisocial…

Cases of obsessional slowness, a variant of obsessive compulsive disorder, have been documented in case literature regarding relatively low functioning populations. However, obsessional slowness can also present in higher functioning populations, including college and graduate students, as illustrated here by three case examples from a competitive…

Specific phobias are highly prevalent among college students and can be quite debilitating. However, students often do not present for treatment for phobias and, when they do, often do not receive effective treatment. This article will present a case study of the effective treatment of specific phobia using cognitive-behavioral therapy with an…

Truancy is a problem that normally leads to treatment interventions within different organizations. Within these organizations different perspectives on the causes and consequences of the above problem can be found. The purpose of this literature study is to map out and describe the current state of research within the fields of school refusal,…

This study examined the concordance (or synchrony/desynchrony) between adolescents' self-reports of anxiety and physiological measures of arousal (heart rate) both prior to and after treatment for panic disorder. Results indicated a decline in reported subjective units of distress (SUDS) for the treatment group only at the post-treatment…

Selective mutism is a rare, debilitating condition usually seen in children. Unfortunately, there is little research examining effective treatments for this disorder, and designing an evidence-based treatment plan can be difficult. This case study presents the evidence-based treatment of an 8-year-old Caucasian boy with selective mutism using an…

This study examined emotion-related functioning following cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with 37 youth with anxiety disorders (22 boys, 15 girls) ranging in age from 7 to 15 with a principal diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (n = 27), separation anxiety disorder (n = 12), and/or social phobia (n = 13). Treated youth exhibited a…

This article describes six common types of anxiety disorders: (1) generalized anxiety disorder; (2) panic disorder; (3) obsessive-compulsive disorder; (4) post-traumatic stress disorder; (5) specific phobias; and (6) social phobia. Treatment of anxiety disorders have two components that can be offered separately or in combination. They are…

Cognitive-behavioral models suggest that certain cognitions and beliefs are functionally related to hair pulling in persons with trichotillomania (TTM), but little empirical data have been collected to test such claims. This study assessed dysfunctional beliefs about appearance, shameful cognitions, and fear of negative evaluation and their…

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concerns in the United States and they tend to be among the most frequently reported in college mental health. While efficacious research for the psychotherapy treatment of specific anxiety disorders (e.g., social phobia, panic disorder, etc.) exists, the picture is more complex in clinical…