Anxiety in children and adolescents is common, with approximately 1 in 5 youth impacted. Although some level of anxiety is normal and healthy for human adaptation, high levels of anxiety can get in the way of functioning across social, academic, family and personal domains, and is therefore unwelcome.

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The good news is that a psychological intervention called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT] has been shown to be effective at reducing anxiety symptoms in youth. In fact, large controlled clinical trials show a response in approximately 60% of youth. A key question is how to be sure that CBT is getting to as many youth who are affected by anxiety as possible. One silver lining of the 2020 pandemic is the increase in virtual platforms for therapy, which may serve to increase access to CBT for anxiety.

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