A Brief Emotion Focused Therapy for Preschoolers With Anxiety Disorders

The study will comprise of three groups of children (n=40): 1. A group receiving a novel short-term dynamic play therapy. 2. Dyadic therapy 3. Control group who will not receive therapy. All children will be assessed for psychopathology (anxiety, depression and behavioral problems) using standardized instruments such as semi-structured interview and self-reported questionnaires; EEG recordings will be performed from child and parents in order to asses brain synchrony; Cortisol (CT), Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), Oxytocin (OT) and Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) will be assessed by using saliva sampling; and father-mother-child interactions will be videotaped and analyzed. Narrative descriptions will be obtained from parents, and the interviews recorded for voice analysis. Assessment will be made at baseline and then bi-monthly for six months.