Child Treatment Programs at the CTSA

The CTSA specializes in the treatment of pediatric Obsessive‑Compulsive Disorder (OCD) using Exposure and Response Prevention (Ex/RP)—the gold‑standard, evidence‑based approach for reducing OCD symptoms in children and adolescents. Ex/RP has decades of research supporting its effectiveness in helping young people overcome intrusive thoughts, decrease compulsive behaviors, and build long‑term coping skills.

At the CTSA, Ex/RP is delivered in a developmentally sensitive, collaborative manner that actively involves caregivers. Treatment focuses on helping children gradually face feared thoughts, feelings, and situations while learning to resist rituals and compulsions such as checking, tapping, reassurance seeking, or excessive washing. Through guided practice, children gain confidence in their ability to tolerate distress and break the OCD cycle.

Exposure and Response Prevention (Ex/RP) is the frontline treatment for childhood Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD). At the CTSA, we tailor Ex/RP to a child’s age and needs, helping them face scary thoughts or situations (exposures) while reducing rituals and reassurance (response prevention) in a supportive, step-by-step way.

What Treatment Involves

• Psychoeducation for families: Understanding OCD, why rituals stick around, and how Ex/RP works.
• Personalized fear map: Child, caregivers, and clinician identify obsessions, compulsions, and triggers; together we build a graded exposure plan.
• Exposures that fit the child: Developmentally appropriate practice (e.g., brief challenges, visual supports, rewards) that help kids face fears safely without doing rituals.
• Response prevention at home: We coach families to reduce accommodations (e.g., answering repeated reassurance questions, changing routines to avoid triggers) while increasing coping.
• Skills for managing distress: Calm breathing, flexible thinking, and confidence-building.

Parent & Caregiver Role

Parents learn how to coach exposures, set clear routines, reduce family accommodations, and use praise/reward systems to reinforce brave behavior.

Session Structure & Length

Typically 15–20 sessions, 60–90 minutes each, with caregiver participation throughout when appropriate. Practice between sessions is essential.

Goals

Reduce time spent on rituals, increase independence and flexibility, and help your child get back to school, friends, family time, and activities they enjoy.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families are scheduled for an intake evaluation with a clinician. This evaluation includes a diagnostic interview and specialized assessment measures to confirm the presence of OCD and determine the best treatment fit.

Following the evaluation, families receive individualized feedback and treatment recommendations. If Ex/RP at the CTSA is deemed suitable, the child is placed on our waitlist for treatment services. We do everything we can to ensure that services begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our pediatric OCD treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

PTSD Treatment for Children and Teens at the CTSA

The CTSA offers specialized, evidence‑based therapy for children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic or life‑threatening events and developed symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Our treatment is grounded in Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, one of the most effective cognitive‑behavioral approaches for reducing trauma‑related distress.

What Treatment Looks Like

Pediatric PTSD treatment at the CTSA typically includes 8–15 weekly weekly 60-minute sessions. The program is designed specifically for youth and uses developmentally tailored modules to make treatment understandable, engaging, and appropriate for the child’s age.

During treatment, children and teens learn:

• What trauma is and how it affects thoughts, feelings, and the body
• Skills for coping with stress and strong emotions
• How to face situations, memories, or feelings they have been avoiding
• How to regain confidence, safety, and control in everyday life

Therapy includes gradual approach to feared but safe situations and revisiting trauma memories with the support of a trained clinician. Caregivers can be involved throughout treatment so they can support their child’s progress at home and better understand the recovery process.

How Prolonged Exposure Helps

PE helps young people:

• Reduce fear and anxiety linked to their traumatic experience
• Decrease avoidance that keeps PTSD symptoms going
• Build resilience and a sense of safety
• Process the traumatic memory so it becomes less overwhelming over time

Our clinicians work carefully to ensure each youth feels supported, respected, and empowered throughout the process.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our pediatric PTSD treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

Watch the following video to learn more about PE:

Cognitive‑behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood social anxiety helps children face feared social moments, build skills, and change unhelpful beliefs about “what others think.”

What Treatment Involves

• Understanding social anxiety: Why avoidance (e.g., not raising a hand) keeps fear going.
• Skills training: Conversational turn‑taking, starting/ending interactions, assertiveness, and realistic self‑evaluation.
• Exposure hierarchy: Child and therapist create a ladder of feared social situations (e.g., ordering at a restaurant, giving a short presentation).
• In‑session & real‑world practice: Frequent exposures each session and home practice with caregiver support.
• Cognitive coaching: Reframing “Everyone will laugh at me” to more balanced, testable thoughts.

Parent & Caregiver Role

Parents learn how to coach gradual challenges, praise brave behavior, and reduce accommodations (answering for the child, avoiding social situations).

School Support

When appropriate, we coordinate with teachers for graded participation (e.g., small-group presentations before whole-class).

Session Structure & Length

Typically 15-20 weekly individual 60-minute sessions.

Goals

Increase confidence speaking, participating, and connecting with peers, while reducing worry and avoidance.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Social Anxiety treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Adults 18 and over or our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

CBT for childhood GAD targets chronic worry, perfectionism, and “what‑if” thinking, helping kids tolerate uncertainty, problem-solve, and spend more time in daily life—not in their heads.

What Treatment Involves

• Worry education: How worry tricks the brain and grows with attention and reassurance.
• Thought tools: Spotting worry thoughts, evaluating likelihoods, and building flexible thinking.
• Uncertainty practice: Step-by-step exercises that build tolerance for not knowing (e.g., delaying reassurance, “maybe” responses).
• Behavioral experiments & exposures: Testing predictions (e.g., turning in homework that’s “good enough,” starting a task without triple-checking).
• Relaxation skills: Calm breathing, muscle relaxation, and attention‑shifting.
• Problem‑solving: Separating real problems from worry problems, then taking practical steps.

Parent & Caregiver Role

Caregivers learn to coach coping, set consistent limits on reassurance, and praise brave, imperfect attempts.

Session Structure & Length

Typically 15-20 weekly individual 60-minute sessions.

Goals

Reduce time spent worrying, increase flexibility and independence, and improve participation at school, home, and with friends.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Generalized Anxiety treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Adults 18 and over or our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

CBT for pediatric panic disorder teaches kids that scary body sensations (e.g., pounding heart, dizziness) are safe and temporary, and helps them re‑enter avoided situations.

What Treatment Involves

• Panic education: Understanding the body’s alarm system and why panic feels dangerous (but isn’t).
• Interoceptive exposures (body-sensation practice): Child-friendly exercises (e.g., spinning in a chair for dizziness, running in place for heart rate) to learn sensations are safe.
• Situational exposures: Step-by-step return to feared places (gym class, buses, sleepovers, stores).
• Cognitive coaching: Challenging “I’m going to faint” or “I can’t handle this,” building confident coping.
• Relapse prevention: Planning for the occasional blip and responding skillfully.

Parent & Caregiver Role

Parents learn to pause reassurance, coach coping skills, and support exposures without enabling avoidance.

Session Structure & Length

Typically 15-20 weekly individual 60-minute sessions.

Goals

Fewer panic attacks, more freedom to participate in daily activities, and confidence handling body sensations.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Panic Disorder treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

Specific phobias in children involve strong fear of particular objects or situations—such as dogs or other animals, insects, medical procedures (like injections), thunderstorms, heights, or seeing blood. Even though the feared item may vary, research shows that cognitive‑behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure is highly effective in helping children overcome these fears.

At the CTSA, treatment for specific phobias in children is active, supportive, and designed to help young people gradually build confidence. Therapy typically includes 15-20 individual weekly sessions that are 60 minutes long and focuses on helping children understand their fear and practice new skills to approach situations they’ve been avoiding.

What Treatment Involves

1. Education About Phobias

Children and caregivers learn how phobias develop and why fear stays strong when situations are avoided. Understanding the body’s fear response helps reduce confusion and prepares families for the exposure work ahead.

2. Exposure to Feared Objects and Situations

Exposure is the core of treatment. With guidance from their therapist, children face the feared object or situation in a gradual, step‑by‑step way—always at a pace that feels manageable. Exposures may include:

• Looking at pictures or videos
• Imagining the feared situation
• Practicing physical sensations related to fear (like a racing heart)
• Real‑life experiences with support—for example, meeting a calm dog or practicing for an upcoming medical procedure

Through repeated practice, children learn that the feared outcomes are far less likely than they feel and that their anxiety naturally decreases through experience.

3. Working With Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs

Therapists help children identify thoughts that fuel their fear, such as:

• “All dogs bite.”
• “If I see blood, I’ll faint.”
• “I won’t be able to handle it.”

Using CBT strategies, children learn to develop more realistic, flexible ways of thinking and build confidence in their ability to cope.

Parents are coached to support exposures and reinforce brave behavior without accidentally strengthening avoidance.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Specific Phobia treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

The CTSA provides specialized cognitive‑behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with trichotillomania (hair‑pulling disorder) and excoriation disorder (skin‑picking disorder). Treatment is structured, evidence‑based, and designed to help young people understand their symptoms, build healthier habits, and regain control over pulling or picking behaviors. Therapy typically includes 15–20 weekly individual sessions, each lasting about 60 minutes, with active caregiver involvement.

What Treatment Involves

1. Education About the Disorders

Therapists explain—in child‑friendly language—how hair pulling and skin picking develop and what makes them continue. Children and caregivers learn about:

• Emotional triggers (boredom, stress, frustration)
• Automatic habits and sensory urges
• Environmental factors (lighting, mirrors, idle hands)

This foundation helps families understand the behavior and prepares children to make meaningful changes.

2. Awareness Training and Self‑Monitoring

A major step in treatment is helping children notice urges early, before pulling or picking happens. Kids learn to identify:

• What they were doing before an episode
• Where and when urges happen most
• Feelings or sensations that come right before pulling/picking

Self‑monitoring is introduced in developmentally appropriate ways—such as brief check‑ins, stickers, or simple logs—to increase awareness without shame or pressure.

3. Stimulus Control Strategies

To make pulling or picking less likely, children and therapists work together to change aspects of the environment. This may include:

• Covering mirrors or limiting time in triggering spaces
• Adding fidget tools or sensory substitutes
• Adjusting lighting or routines
• Changing seating or hand placement during homework, bedtime, or screen time

These changes help reduce automatic behaviors and create opportunities to practice new skills.

4. Habit Reversal Training (HRT)

Habit Reversal Training is the core of treatment. Children learn competing responses—alternative behaviors that make pulling or picking difficult or impossible when urges arise. Examples include:

• Squeezing a stress ball
• Clenching fists
• Sitting on hands
• Using textured objects
• Wearing soft gloves in specific situations

Through repetition and practice, these skills become more natural, and urges become easier to manage.

5. Maintaining Progress and Preventing Relapse

Toward the end of treatment, children build a plan to maintain progress. This includes:

• Identifying early warning signs
• Strengthening coping routines
• Planning for high‑risk times (stress, boredom, bedtime)
• Creating a family support plan

Caregivers are taught how to reinforce progress without criticism or excessive monitoring.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Trichotillomania or Excoriation treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

The CTSA provides specialized cognitive‑behavioral and exposure‑based therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) in children and adolescents. Treatment is collaborative, structured, and tailored to each child’s unique eating patterns, sensory sensitivities, and food‑related fears. Therapy typically includes 15–20 weekly sessions, each about 60 minutes, with active involvement from caregivers.

What Treatment Involves

1. Assessment and Individualized Case Formulation

Treatment begins with a comprehensive evaluation to understand all of the factors that contribute to a child’s limited eating. This may include:

• Sensory sensitivities to texture, smell, taste, or temperature
• Fear‑based reactions (e.g., fear of choking, vomiting, or feeling sick)
• Low appetite or limited interest in food
• Routines or family patterns that unintentionally reinforce avoidance

Working together, the therapist, child, and caregivers create an individualized plan that identifies clear goals and guides treatment.

2. Psychoeducation About ARFID

Children and families learn:

• What ARFID is
• Why eating becomes difficult or scary
• How avoidance keeps the problem going
• How treatment can help expand foods and decrease fear

This shared understanding helps reduce confusion, increases motivation, and allows the whole family to participate in the change process.

3. Increasing Awareness of Eating Patterns

Children learn to notice early signs that eating might feel difficult, such as:

• Sensory discomfort
• Worry or scary thoughts
• Feeling full quickly or having low appetite
• Food rituals or behaviors that limit variety

Developmentally appropriate self‑monitoring tools—such as sticker charts, simple logs, or brief daily check‑ins—help track progress and guide session planning.

4. Gradual Exposure to Feared or Avoided Foods

Exposure is a central part of ARFID treatment at the CTSA. Children gradually practice trying foods they’ve avoided or feared, using a step‑by‑step approach. Exposure may include:

• Sensory exposure: touching, smelling, licking, or tasting new or challenging foods
• Fear‑based exposure: practicing foods associated with choking, vomiting, or other feared outcomes
• Portion and variety expansion: increasing the amount and types of foods eaten

Over time, children learn that feared outcomes are unlikely and that many foods can be tolerated—and sometimes even enjoyed.

5. Behavioral Skills to Support Eating

To help children succeed, treatment includes strategies such as:

• Building hunger cues and appetite awareness
• Creating predictable and supportive mealtime routines
• Slowing down avoidance responses in the moment
• Using coping skills for anxiety or sensory discomfort
• Supporting younger children with parent‑assisted prompting and modeling

Caregivers are trained in each strategy to support progress at home.

6. Sensory‑Focused Interventions

For children whose eating is limited by sensory sensitivities, treatment includes:

• Gradual desensitization to textures or temperatures
• Exploration of new sensory experiences
• Practicing tolerating mildly uncomfortable sensations in a safe, predictable setting

These exercises help reduce rigidity and increase willingness to try new foods.

7. Cognitive Strategies

Children learn to identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts, such as:

• “I will choke on this.”
• “This food will make me sick.”
• “I can’t handle this texture.”

They practice replacing these thoughts with more realistic and flexible beliefs about eating and their own ability to cope.

8. Maintenance and Long‑Term Success

As treatment progresses, the focus shifts to:

• Keeping new foods in rotation
• Continuing to expand variety over time
• Problem‑solving for difficult meals or situations
• Planning for setbacks and transitions (holidays, school lunches, travel)

Relapse‑prevention planning helps families feel confident supporting continued progress long after therapy ends.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our ARFID treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

The CTSA offers specialized cognitive‑behavioral and exposure‑based therapy (CBT) for Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder in children and adolescents. These treatments help young people reduce excessive worry about health, decrease checking and reassurance‑seeking, and feel more confident participating in school, friendships, and daily activities. Therapy typically includes 15–20 weekly sessions, each lasting 60 minutes, with active involvement from caregivers.

Understanding These Disorders in Children

Children with Illness Anxiety Disorder or Somatic Symptom Disorder may:

• Worry a great deal about having a serious medical condition
• Pay close attention to body sensations (like headaches, stomach aches, or heart beats)
• Check their bodies repeatedly or research symptoms online
• Ask for frequent reassurance from parents, teachers, or doctors
• Continue worrying even after normal medical evaluations
• Avoid activities (gym, playdates, sports) due to fear of getting sick or hurt

At the CTSA, treatment helps children understand what drives these fears and teaches them skills to manage body sensations and health‑related worries in a healthier, more confident way.

What Treatment Involves

1. Psychoeducation About Health Anxiety

Children and families learn:

• How anxiety can make normal body sensations feel alarming
• Why focusing on symptoms makes them seem stronger
• How avoidance and reassurance‑seeking can accidentally keep fears going

This foundation helps children make sense of their experiences and prepares them for skill‑building.

2. Identifying What Maintains the Problem

Together, the therapist, child, and caregivers explore patterns such as:

• Checking the body for symptoms
• Googling or researching medical conditions
• Asking for reassurance repeatedly
• Avoiding physical activity or situations that feel risky
• Paying very close attention to normal sensations

Understanding these patterns allows the team to set personalized treatment goals.

3. Cognitive Evaluation and Restructuring

Children learn to notice and question thoughts like:

• “This stomach ache must mean something is really wrong.”
• “If I feel my heart beat fast, I’m in danger.”
• “I won’t be safe without checking.”

Therapists help kids develop more balanced, flexible ways of thinking about their bodies, health, and uncertainty.

4. Exposure and Reduction of Compensatory Behaviors

A key part of treatment involves gradually facing feared situations and reducing habits that increase anxiety. This may include:

• Reducing body checking
• Delaying or decreasing reassurance‑seeking
• Practicing reading medical information without spiraling into research
• Re‑entering avoided activities like recess, sports, or social events
• Learning to sit with uncertainty about normal body sensations

Through repeated practice, children learn that feared outcomes are unlikely, and their anxiety naturally decreases.

5. Shifting Attention and Reducing Symptom Monitoring

Kids practice strategies for:

• Switching attention away from body sensations
• Engaging in enjoyable, meaningful activities
• Reducing hyperfocus on normal physical feelings

This helps break the cycle of symptom monitoring and worry.

6. Behavioral Activation and Re‑Engagement in Life

Treatment helps children return to activities they may have stopped due to fear, such as:

• Sports
• Schoolwork
• Playdates
• Family outings
• Physical activity

Gradual re‑engagement improves confidence and reduces health‑related worry.

7. Relapse Prevention and Long‑Term Maintenance

Toward the end of treatment, children and caregivers learn:

• How to handle new symptoms or worries
• What to do if anxiety flares up
• How to maintain progress at home and school
• Strategies to reduce the likelihood of returning to old patterns

This planning helps families feel confident and prepared for the future.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Illness Anxiety or Somatic Symptom Disorder treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.

The CTSA offers specialized cognitive‑behavioral therapy (CBT) for misophonia in children and adolescents. Misophonia is a condition in which certain everyday sounds—such as chewing, breathing, tapping, or sniffing—trigger strong emotional and physical reactions like anger, panic, disgust, or anxiety. These reactions can make school, family meals, and social activities very challenging.

CBT for misophonia at the CTSA is structured, evidence‑informed, and designed to help young people understand their sound sensitivities, reduce emotional reactions, and build confidence in situations where triggering sounds occur. Treatment typically includes 15–20 weekly sessions, each about 60 minutes, with active involvement from caregivers.

What Treatment Involves

1. Comprehensive Assessment and Case Formulation

Treatment begins with a detailed evaluation to understand your child’s unique experience. The clinician and family work together to identify:

• Specific trigger sounds
• Emotional and physical reactions
• Avoidance patterns (e.g., leaving rooms, skipping meals, difficulty in classrooms)
• Coping behaviors that may unintentionally maintain symptoms (e.g., constant headphone use)

This information helps create an individualized treatment plan that guides therapy.

2. Psychoeducation About Misophonia

Children and families learn:

• Why certain sounds feel overwhelming
• How emotional responses become connected to specific triggers
• Why leaving or avoiding the sound can make the reaction stronger over time

Understanding that misophonia is real, common, and treatable often helps reduce fear and shame.

3. Awareness Training

Children learn to notice early signs that a reaction is starting, such as:

• Increased tension in the body
• Feeling angry or “on edge”
• Sudden focus on the sound
• Urges to escape

Building awareness helps children interrupt the reaction cycle and choose healthier coping strategies.

4. Cognitive Restructuring and Flexibility

Misophonia can be fueled by strong or unhelpful thoughts, such as:

• “I can’t stand this sound.”
• “They’re doing this to annoy me.”
• “I need to leave right now.”

Therapists help children:

• Identify these thoughts
• Consider more helpful interpretations
• Reduce personalization of others’ behavior
• Build more flexible thinking patterns

This reduces emotional intensity and helps children respond rather than react.

5. Exposure to Trigger Sounds

Exposure is a core component of misophonia treatment. Children gradually face trigger sounds in a safe, supportive, and controlled way. This may include:

• Listening to recordings of the sounds
• Practicing with simulated scenarios
• Working toward real‑life situations like family meals or classroom activities

The goal is not to make children “like” the sounds, but to help them tolerate them with less distress and regain control.

6. Response Prevention and Coping Skill Development

Children practice reducing behaviors that keep misophonia going, such as:

• Immediately leaving a room
• Covering their ears or using headphones excessively
• Avoiding certain people or situations
• Seeking continuous reassurance

At the same time, they learn effective coping strategies such as:

• Grounding and mindfulness
• Attention‑shifting tools
• Calm‑breathing techniques
• Distress‑tolerance skills

These skills help them stay regulated during challenges.

7. Improving Emotional Regulation

Because misophonia reactions can include anger, panic, or frustration, treatment includes child‑friendly emotional regulation skills:

• Identifying feelings early
• Using calming tools before reactions escalate
• Practicing alternative responses to triggers

These skills help children regain a sense of control in their bodies and emotions.

8. Communication and Family Support

Misophonia can be stressful for families, especially during meals or shared spaces. Treatment may include:

• Helping children express their needs appropriately
• Creating family plans for tricky situations
• Reducing conflict or misunderstanding related to triggers
• Collaborating with schools to support coping in the classroom

This helps the whole family feel more supported and connected.

9. Maintenance and Long‑Term Success

As therapy wraps up, children and caregivers work together to:

• Build a plan to maintain progress
• Prepare for challenging situations or setbacks
• Strengthen coping skills for long‑term independence

These strategies help ensure continued success beyond therapy.

Eligibility and Intake Process

After completing our new patient questionnaire, families complete an intake evaluation with a clinician. This includes a detailed interview and specialized assessment tools to understand symptoms and determine the most appropriate treatment plan.

After the evaluation, the clinician reviews results with the family, discusses recommendations, and helps coordinate next steps. If CTSA’s PTSD program is appropriate, the child is placed on our waitlist. We do everything we can to ensure that treatment sessions begin as promptly as possible.

If you are interested in our Misophonia treatment program, the first step is to complete our New Patient Questionnaire for Children Under 18.