SPACE Groups

SPACE, or Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions, is an educational support group offered at Balanced Reflection Counseling, designed to assist parents of children and adolescents struggling with anxiety, OCD, and related challenges. Developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, SPACE has been rigorously tested in randomized controlled clinical trials, demonstrating its effectiveness.

The program targets a variety of anxiety disorders, including separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, fears and phobias, panic disorder, agoraphobia, selective mutism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. While children are the focus of treatment, they do not need to attend the sessions; instead, parents and caregivers participate and learn valuable skills to support their child's journey to feeling less anxious and functioning better.

SPACE emphasizes changes that parents can make in their own behavior, rather than requiring their children to change. Participants will learn how to respond more supportively to their anxious child while also reducing accommodations that may inadvertently maintain the child's symptoms. Through this collaborative approach, SPACE fosters a more resilient family dynamic and equips parents with the tools to help their children thrive.