SPACE Treatment for Anxiety
in La Jolla
When your child is struggling with anxiety or OCD, your natural instinct as a parent is to protect them from feeling afraid. You might find yourself constantly answering the same worried questions, altering family routines to avoid their triggers, or stepping in to handle things that feel too overwhelming for them.
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You are doing this out of deep love and care. Over time, however, these accommodations can become exhausting for the whole family. If your child's worries are starting to dictate your schedule and you feel like you are walking on eggshells trying to prevent the next spiral, you are not alone. More importantly, you have the power to change the dynamic even if your child is not ready for therapy themselves.
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What is Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)?
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is an evidence-based, parent-based anxiety treatment developed at the Yale Child Study Center. What makes SPACE unique, and often a huge relief for families, is that the treatment is entirely parent-focused. Your child does not actually need to attend the therapy sessions for their anxiety to improve.
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Instead of trying to force your child to change, SPACE focuses on the one thing you actually have control over: your own responses. Through this structured protocol, we will help you systematically reduce the accommodations you are making for your child's anxiety while increasing the warmth, validation, and support you provide them.
Specialized Anxiety Treatment in San Diego
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Treating childhood anxiety and OCD requires specific training. Standard talk therapy is often not enough to break deeply ingrained cycles of worry and avoidance.
When you seek SPACE therapy in San Diego, you want to ensure your clinician is formally trained in the actual Yale protocol. At La Jolla Therapy Center, our founder, Kelly McCullough, LCSW, holds formal training in the SPACE program. You are being guided by a professional who understands the exact behavioral mechanics of anxiety.
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Is SPACE Right for Your Family?
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As a trusted provider of child anxiety treatment in La Jolla, this protocol is highly effective for families dealing with:
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High Family Accommodation: You constantly change plans, provide endless reassurance, or alter routines to prevent meltdowns.
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Therapy-Resistant Kids: Your child or teen refuses to go to therapy themselves.
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Anxiety and OCD: Children and teens struggling with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias, or OCD.
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Parental Burnout: The stress of managing your child's anxiety is exhausting you.
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Research shows that SPACE is just as effective at reducing childhood anxiety as traditional CBT where the child is the patient. You do not have to keep walking on eggshells around your child's fears.
