Therapy or Medication in Children With Phobias?

If your child suffers from a phobia, you are likely concerned with making sure that your child receives the best possible treatment. Parents have long struggled with the question of whether therapy or medication is more effective.

Researchers from the Maryland Centre for Anxiety Disorders at the University of Maryland-College Park and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio attempted to answer this question. They monitored 122 children and adolescents with social phobia for a period of one year.

Half of the participants were treated with fluoxetine (Prozac), while the other half received a placebo (sugar pill). Half of each group was also treated with SET-C therapy. SET-C is a type of behavioral therapy that focuses on social skills training as well as exposure to the feared situation.

The researchers found the best results in children who received both fluoxetine and therapy. However, SET-C alone appeared to be more beneficial than fluoxetine alone. Additionally, SET-C provided benefits beyond reduction of fear, such as better social skills.

It is too early to tell whether SET-C will eventually become the treatment of choice for social phobia in children. Parents should continue to follow the recommendations of their children’s health professional.