SPACE Method

Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

In today’s stressful world, it is not uncommon for parents to subconsciously pass anxiety along to their children. While every individual and family is unique, in families where anxiety management is a concern for multiple generations, the Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) method pioneered by Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center has proven efficacious in randomized, controlled clinical trials. Marina Gonzalez-Ang has learned directly from Dr. Lebowitz and is trained by the Yale Child Study Center in this approach to helping anxious kids.

One of the primary reasons that Marina is a leading proponent of the SPACE approach is that, in her experience, kids will often avoid engaging in cognitive behavioral therapy in the way that it is designed to function. SPACE provides an alternative which, for many young people, may be as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy and medicine, by working with parents to take a closer look at the family system and how and when anxiety takes over.

Typically, this model runs for 12 sessions. During these sessions, Eastern Massachusetts parents who are a good fit for the approach will learn the skills necessary to help their kids gain the ability to sit with discomfort – because there will undoubtedly be times in life that each of us will be uncomfortable. The point is not to run from discomfort in fear, but to accept it as an inevitability that is okay, and manageable.

Working with Marina in the SPACE model, parents will explore any potential ways in which the family may be unintentionally facilitating a negative behavior. Beyond identifying and eliminating patterns which perpetuate unwanted behaviors, parents can create a roadmap in which little interventions will reinforce one another and add up to big change.

It is never too late to make a positive change in your family. Please contact Marina to get started.