SPACE therapy at Palo Alto Therapy can help with:
- Reducing accommodation of childhood anxiety or OCD
- Helping parents respond to anxiety in a calmer and more supportive way
- School refusal and separation anxiety
- Frequent reassurance seeking or emotional dependence
- Panic, fears, and excessive worry
- Family stress created by anxiety-driven behaviors
- Building a child’s confidence in handling distress
- Reducing conflict around anxious behaviors at home
- Supporting children who resist or avoid therapy themselves
- Helping families create healthier patterns around anxiety
- Increasing a child’s independence and resilience
- Parenting strategies that reduce anxiety over time
What Is SPACE Therapy?
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions is a parent-based treatment program for childhood and adolescent anxiety and OCD.
Anxiety is a very common mental health problem for children and according to many clinical research studies, around 30% of children will suffer from clinical levels of anxiety sometime throughout their childhood.
One of the main ways parents are involved in a child’s anxiety is through a process we call family accommodation. Family accommodation refers to any changes the parents make in their behavior to help the child avoid or alleviate their anxious feelings. Learning how to reduce these accommodations in a supportive way is at the core of SPACE treatment.
The following video featuring Dr. Eli Leibowitz from Yale Child Study Center will provide an overview of the treatment program.
Who SPACE Therapy Helps
SPACE Therapy is designed for families who feel stuck in cycles of anxiety, reassurance, avoidance, or emotional overwhelm and want a healthier way forward together.
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Children
When anxiety takes over, younger children often rely heavily on parents for reassurance, avoidance, or comfort because they do not yet know how to manage fear on their own. SPACE Therapy helps parents respond in ways that build a child’s confidence over time so daily life can feel calmer, more flexible, and less controlled by anxiety.
Teens
As teens grow more independent, anxiety can create conflict around school, social situations, separation, or everyday responsibilities that leave the entire family feeling stuck and exhausted. SPACE Therapy helps parents support teens without reinforcing fear so adolescents can develop greater resilience and feel more capable handling challenges on their own.
Parents & Caregivers
Parents of anxious children or teens often feel trapped between wanting to reduce distress in the moment and worrying they may be making anxiety stronger over time. SPACE Therapy gives caregivers practical guidance and steady support so they can respond with more confidence and help create lasting change for the whole family.
How SPACE Therapy Works
SPACE Therapy helps parents make supportive changes that gradually reduce anxiety-driven patterns within the family.
SPACE Therapy begins by identifying how anxiety is affecting your child and the ways family patterns may have gradually shifted in response to it. Together, you and your therapist build a clearer understanding of what is keeping anxiety stuck and where change can begin.
Parents often adjust routines, provide reassurance, or avoid certain situations in order to prevent distress or keep things calm. Therapy helps caregivers recognize these patterns with compassion and understand how small changes can support long-term resilience.
Your therapist helps you practice supportive responses that communicate confidence in your child’s ability to handle anxiety rather than reinforcing fear. These strategies are tailored to your family and designed to feel steady, practical, and manageable to use at home.
As therapy progresses, parents begin reducing accommodations in thoughtful and realistic ways while staying emotionally supportive and connected to their child. The process is gradual so changes feel sustainable rather than overwhelming for the family.
Over time, families often begin noticing less conflict, less anxiety-driven behavior, and more confidence in handling difficult moments together. The goal is for both parents and children to feel more capable navigating anxiety without it controlling family life.
Recognizing Good Therapy
Evidence-Based
SPACE Therapy is an evidence-based treatment that helps parents support anxious children without reinforcing fear or avoidance. Families learn practical changes that help children become more resilient and independent over time.
Strong Relationships
A strong relationship between therapist and parent is an important part of successful SPACE Therapy, especially when families feel exhausted, discouraged, or unsure how to help. We work closely with caregivers in a supportive and collaborative way so they feel more confident creating meaningful change at home.
Short-Term & Focused
SPACE Therapy uses clear goals and practical strategies that families can begin applying right away at home. As accommodations are reduced gradually, children often gain confidence handling anxiety with less dependence on reassurance.
Client Convenience
We offer evening and Saturday appointments, a responsive administrative team, and flexible therapy options designed to support busy families. With in-person and secure video sessions available, getting help can feel easier and more manageable from the start.
With convenient office locations in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose, we proudly serve the entire Silicon Valley community – from Stanford University and the Peninsula to the South Bay, offering easy access for tech professionals, students, and families.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Unlike many forms of therapy that focus primarily on the child, SPACE Therapy works directly with parents and caregivers to change the patterns that may unintentionally keep anxiety going. The goal is to help children build confidence and resilience through supportive changes within the family system.
In many cases, SPACE Therapy works primarily with parents rather than the child directly. This can be especially helpful when a child refuses therapy, avoids talking about anxiety, or becomes overwhelmed in traditional treatment settings.
SPACE Therapy is commonly used for childhood anxiety, OCD, panic attacks, phobias, separation anxiety, school avoidance, and excessive reassurance seeking. It can also help families who feel stuck in cycles of accommodation, conflict, or emotional exhaustion related to anxiety.
Children often feel anxious when family patterns begin changing, which is why SPACE Therapy focuses heavily on helping parents stay supportive, calm, and emotionally connected throughout the process. Changes are introduced gradually so families feel guided rather than overwhelmed.
The length of SPACE Therapy depends on the child’s symptoms, the level of family accommodation, and the goals of treatment. Many families begin noticing meaningful changes quickly as parents feel more confident responding to anxiety and children become more capable of handling distress without relying on avoidance.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
Palo Alto Therapy does not just provide talk therapy, but focuses on teaching skills to maintain therapy. You have a genuine interest in the client’s well-being and you offered a new way of thinking about or means of addressing my issues.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
I liked the emphasis on doing concrete things to get results-writing down negative thoughts, trying to say things to counter those thoughts…Thank you for helping me make my life better.
What Our Clients Are Saying…
I found the homework exercises to be very helpful to me. I’ve been able to use techniques I have learned from those exercises to slow down my thoughts when problems arise and work through whatever the issue may be, OCD or otherwise.
Meet Our Team of Family Therapists in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, & San Jose
Lani Gingras, AMFT
Hope Son, AMFT
Janika Filipe, AMFT, APCC
Hong-Ha Vuong, AMFT, APCC
Hannah Bodin, AMFT
Sarah Partridge, ASW
Sarah Chelew, AMFT
Jacquelyn “Jacqui” Lewis, LMFT, ATR-BC, CCTP, ACCTS
Michael Tran, LMFT
Sarah Covert, AMFT
Laura Tolle, LMFT
Bella Stitt, LMFT
We connect you with a therapist who specializes in SPACE Therapy—no guesswork. You get the right support immediately, before things get worse.
We track outcomes starting with your first session. Therapy success means concrete progress in weeks, supported by clear, measurable evidence.
Skip the waitlists and insurance runaround. We match you with a specialist who fits your needs — and a real person walks you through every step.
Our SPACE Therapy specialists provide compassionate, proven support.
Get Support Today
Parenting an anxious child can feel emotionally draining and isolating. SPACE Therapy helps caregivers feel more equipped to handle anxiety while helping children grow more capable and independent.