Diagnosis and Treatment of Separation Anxiety Disorder

CASE STUDY 6

CLIENT DETAILS
Diagnosis: Separation Anxiety Disorder.
Age: 6 years.
Client Gender: Male.
Initial Consultation: 20th May 2011.
Number of Sessions: 12 sessions.
Place of Treatment: The agency.
Treatment Approach: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
Treatment Mode: Weekly one hour sessions.

Referral Information

The client’s mother referred her son to the agency because he was suffering from anxiety. He was resisting going to go to school and becoming distressed when his parents tried to leave him at home.

Presenting Problem

The client attended his first assessment session with his mother. He was of average size and weight for his age and was
She reported that the client seemed more fearful than the average child needing to check with her whenever there were changes to routine in the classroom. The teacher said she had also noticed his reluctance to attend school although he had not missed any classes.

Previous Interventions
The client’s mother had taken her son to see a paediatrician one month before seeking assessment and treatment at The agency. The paediatrician checked the client’s weight and height and found these to be within the norm for his age and indicated that she was not concerned with the client’s refusal to eat at school.

Psychometric Assessment

The assessment protocol was based on two areas of concern in the client’s functioning.
• The client’s symptomatic indicators of anxiety.
• The client’s school refusal.

The Parent Version of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children (ADIS) (Silverman & Albano, 1996) was administered. Parental administration is recommended when direct questioning may induce anxiety in the child.
The instrument was used to aid diagnosis because it encompasses the major childhood disorders including anxiety according to the DSM IV Criteria. The ADIS has an interference rating scale that ranges from 0 absent - 8 high. Diagnosis is indicted by the impairment rating on each scale of 4 or greater (Silverman, Saavedra, & Pina, 2001) The