CBT Group Intervention for Children With Food Allergy and Anxiety

The research will design and evaluate a CBT based intervention to support children aged 11-17 with food allergies. The research on this population has shown that they can experience high levels of anxiety in management of their allergy which can have a significant impact on quality of life. However, the research exploring psychological interventions is limited. CBT has a wide evidence base from NHS settings delivering interventions to support those with various health conditions. In addition, CBT has been shown to be effective for supporting adolescents manage their health-related anxiety. The investigators are interested in the feasibility of designing and implementing a one day workshop aimed at adolescents with food allergy and self-reported anxiety. The group workshop will involve psychoeducation on anxiety, skills and techniques to manage anxiety, relaxation and how to set goals in relation to their food allergy. It will involve 2 'arms', one where participants will attend the group and the other 'control arm' where they will not attend the group but they will receive materials from the group once the evaluation is complete. All participants will be asked to complete questionnaires that measure level of anxiety, food allergy quality of life and coping skills at baseline, time of workshop, one month follow up and three month follow up. There will also be an opportunity for participants to volunteer to take part in a follow up interview to evaluate the workshop and also to contribute more to the research on what this population requires in terms of a psychological intervention.