Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting adults and children. Research, support services, and intervention options are in place for many struggling people, but young kids are often left out. Psychology professor Jason Moser and his team are working to fill this research gap and explore ways to help kids through this early developmental stage.
“We’re seeing kids whose lives are being impacted by significant levels of anxiety, and there aren’t good intervention options available to them,” said Moser. “So, we took our research on how anxiety shows up in the brain and created an intervention method called Camp Kid Power.”
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Camp Kid Power is in the second year of a three-year pilot multi-site study. In collaboration with the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and the University of Maryland, Camp Kid Power aims to help young children, ages four to five-years-old with significant anxiety. The camp structure includes one-on-one interactions with a counselor who works with a child individually to teach important intervention methods while having fun.
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