Treating Emotionally Dysregulated and Perfectionistic Youth with Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Procedures

Abstract

In clinical child psychology, co-morbidity is the norm rather than exception. Single disorder manuals are limited in their scope and applicability to patients with several presenting problems. Emotion dysregulation and perfectionism are two salient pathways to various internalizing and externalizing mental health disorders in youth. In order to treat these children efficiently and effectively, psychotherapists must be equipped with an approach that is able to target these common corridors to psychopathology. Transdiagnostic modular cognitive behavioral procedures are matched to the individual patients' contexts. The article begins with a brief discussion of emotional regulation, perfectionism, and transdiagnostic modular cognitive behavior therapy. Three confabulated clinical case examples are presented to illustrate the case conceptualization process and the application of modular CBT.

Pediatrician-friendly perspectives on cognitive behavioral therapy for anxious youth: Current status and clinical implications for the next normal

“…In fact, when actual clinical practices were studied, few providers who self-labelled themselves as CBT oriented practitioners genuinely delivered a proper dose of CBT[ 52 ]. This finding is consistent with the phenomenon of “posing” as a CBT therapist rather than practicing as one[ 99 ]. Thus, attention needs to be regularly directed to the proper application of CBT with youth.…”

“…However, there are relatively few clinicians practicing in treatment-as-usual settings who are trained to deliver a proper dose of evidence-based psychotherapies[ 96 ]. Unfortunately, many clinicians incorrectly self-label themselves as CBT clinicians[ 52 , 97 - 99 ]. In fact, when actual clinical practices were studied, few providers who self-labelled themselves as CBT oriented practitioners genuinely delivered a proper dose of CBT[ 52 ].…”

The Roles of Anxious Rearing, Negative Affect, and Effortful Control in a Model of Risk for Child Perfectionism

“…The child's lower emotional reactivity may result in lower levels of anxious rearing on the part of the parent, and ultimately lower perfectionism levels in the child. This may be why treatments that are successful in reducing emotion dysregulation also reduce levels of perfectionism (Sullivan, Keller, Paternostro & Friedberg, 2015).…”

The Relationship Between Family Function, Perfectionism and Hidden Anxiety of Students

“…From the Minuchin structural and therapeutic perspective, one of the leading causes of anxiety in a child, in addition to the conflicts between parents and other members of the family, can be the transmission of problems within the family system to one another, especially children and forming the triangles in the family members' relationships, especially parents with children [27]. Anxiety disorder is considered as a part of chronic border problems in diagnosing all kinds of structural disabilities in disturbed families, which caused by transferring stresses from one subunit to others [28].…”