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This article presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of an applied mindfulness intervention for stress reduction delivered to Paralympic leaders prior to the Paralympic Games. The intervention group of Swedish Paralympic leaders (n=10) received a mindfulness intervention of eight web-based seminars, while a Norwegian reference group (n=6) received no intervention. Three assessments were performed for both samples: at baseline, post-intervention and six weeks post-intervention. The evaluation indicated intervention effects of higher psychological flexibility (p=.03), less rumination (p=.02) and lower perceived stress (p=.001), and offers initial support for the applied usefulness of a web-based mindfulness training program as a supplement in stress-reduction programs for elite sport leaders. General challenges from an applied sport psychology perspective related to the implementation of mindfulness interventions in samples with experienced high levels of stress and perceived time-constraints are discussed., Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council for Sport Science

Among clinicians, it is common practice to include parents in treatment, and it has been taken for granted that parents' involvement in their children's treatment is beneficial for therapy outcome, although research on this issue is far from clear. A meta-analysis was carried out in order to investigate whether parent involvement potentiates the outcome for children with anxiety disorders when treated with cognitive-behavior therapy. Sixteen studies, which directly compared parent-involved treatments with child-only treatments, were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed a small, nonsignificant effect size of -0.10 in favor of the child-only treatments. There was no indication of publication bias in the analysis. Implications of the results are discussed., AuthorCount:5

Background: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for specific phobia in youth, but not all affected seek or receive treatment. Internet-delivered CBT could be a way to increase the availability of empirically supported treatments. Aims: An open trial was conducted to evaluate Internet-delivered CBT for children with specific phobia. Method: Children (N = 30) aged 8-12, and their parents, with a principal diagnosis of specific phobia were recruited through media advertisement. Participants received six weeks of Internet-delivered CBT with therapist support. The treatment was aimed for the parents and the children, with the first part being only for the parents. The primary outcome measure was the Clinician Severity Rating (CSR), and secondary measures included clinician-rated global functioning and child- and parent-reported anxiety and quality of life. All assessments were made at pretreatment, posttreatment, and three-month follow-up. Results: At posttreatment, there were significant reductions on the CSR, with a large within-group effect size (Cohen's d = 1.0) and 35% of children no longer meeting criteria for specific phobia. Self-report measures from parents and children showed significant effects on anxiety, with small to moderate effect sizes. Effects were maintained at three-month follow-up. Conclusions: Results show that Internet-delivered CBT with therapist support for children with specific phobia has the potential to reduce symptom severity. Randomized controlled trials are needed to further evaluate this treatment format.

Uppskattningsvis har cirka 5–10 procent av alla barn och ungdomar någon form av ångeststörning, vilket innebär att det är en av de vanligaste psykiska störningarna hos barn och ungdomar. Ångeststörningar debuterar ofta i barn- eller ungdoms­åren och har ett relativt ­kroniskt förlopp om de förblir obehandlade. Kognitiv beteendeterapi (KBT) och antidepressiva ­läkemedel har i studier visat sig vara effektiv behandlingar, och KBT rekommenderas i första hand. Även om vi i dag har evidensbaserad behandling för barn och ungdomar med ångeststörningar finns stora kunskapsluckor, och behovet av behandlingsstudier är stort.

Psychological treatments for Panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) currently havingempirical support are treatments including cognitive-behavioral interventions, e.g. cognitive therapy and exposure in-vivo. However, our knowledge about the additional efficacy when combining interventions is still limited. In study I, the contribution of cognitive therapy in the treatment of PDA-patients was investigated, by examining the relative efficacy of exposure in-vivo alone and exposure in combination with cognitive therapy. The addition of cognitive therapy was not found to enhance the treatment outcome effects for PDA-patients. Cognitive therapy is based on the cognitive models, which assume that panic attacks are caused by catastrophic misinterpretations(catastrophic cognitions) of bodily sensations. In study II, the cognitive reports of PDApatients when highly anxious were examined and the findings only partly supported the cognitive models for PDA. In study III, the congruence of the cognitive reports obtained with different measures for PDA-patients were examined. Poor congruence was found, and a higher frequency of cognitions in line with cognitive models was reported retrospectively than prospectively. In study IV, the memory bias for psychopathological relevant information in PDA-patients was examined. PDA-patients were found to have a memory bias towards faces rated as safe. The findings from study I-III in the present dissertation are in line with previous research, and consequently, the addition of cognitive therapy and the assumptions from the cognitive models have to be questioned. The finding of a memory bias for safe faces in study IV implies that cognitive distortions in anxiety disorders may be better investigated with psychopathologically relevant information., Härtill 4 uppsatser.