Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)
Discover your power as a parent to free your child from anxiety.
Learn SPACE, a parent-based treatment clinically proven to effectively reduce child anxiety – through nothing but smarter, more informed parenting.
Quick 7-week program
Time and cost efficient. Powerfully effective.
No child therapy required
Parenting-focused. No child participation necessary.
Designed to empower you
Feel confident you’re parenting your anxious child right.
Having a child with anxiety can feel like you’re constantly walking on eggshells.
And like you’re both about to crack.
“I’m exhausted—sharing a bed with an 8 year old every night isn’t easy.”
“It’s a battle to get out the door to school every day.”
“We’re constantly changing our schedule to keep her calm.”
“I’m so drained and overwhelmed.”
“It’s heartbreaking to watch my child in so much pain.”
“I just want to make things better, but nothing is helping.”
You’ve tried everything…
But your child hasn’t responded well to conventional treatments
They aren’t doing their CBT exercises (though goodness knows you’ve done everything to get them on board)
It’s been months in therapy. When will you see real change?
You can’t try much…
Therapy is prohibitively expensive
You have a young child who can’t communicate well – or a teenager who refuses to
You’re not quite sure your child needs therapy.
And if not, why make them feel “broken?”
You just want to free your child from their pain.
(It would be nice to have your own life back, too!)
But you’re feeling helpless to do it.
ENTER S.P.A.C.E.
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions
SPACE is a parents-only treatment where parents attend individual or group sessions with SPACE-trained professionals to learn how to better support their anxious children while empowering them to discover their inner capabilities to defeat anxiety.
The truth?
You’re their parent. You don’t just love them more than anyone else. You also have the most power to help them.
To treat—and beat—your child’s anxiety
To build their resilience and confidence
To help them become strong, happy humans
You just need the right tools.
Is Your Child's Anxiety a Match for SPACE?
Curious about whether SPACE is the right approach for you and your child? Would you like to know if you and your child are good candidates for SPACE? Start with our easy 10-Question Quiz to see if SPACE could be the right fit for you and your child.
The Short Story on SPACE
Developed and tested by experts at the Yale Child Study Center, led by Dr. Eli Lebowitz
Based on learning how to become more supportive of your child while doing less to accommodate their symptoms
Geared to children ages 4-18 with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders
Clinically proven to be AS EFFECTIVE as CBT in treating child anxiety
Watch for a clear summary on SPACE treatment
Watch for real-life parent-child experiences with SPACE
Why SPACE might be the thing that actually, finally, works for you and your child:
Simple & Practical
SPACE isn’t rocket science. It’s a step-by-step, understandable framework thousands of parents have easily and successfully implemented.
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Therapy independent
With its stellar effectiveness rate and parent-centered approach, SPACE treatment doesn’t require your child to spend one minute in therapy. The magic all happens at home.
Yours to control
SPACE focuses on your parenting, without touching your child’s behavior. You won’t need to fight or bribe your child into joining you at a session, doing dreaded exercises – or doing anything at all.
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Meet Your SPACE Therapist
Hi there, I’m Suri.
I get how painful and overwhelming child anxiety can feel for parents. First of all, I’m a mom myself. I’ve also spend the last 30 years practicing in the fields of education and mental health, working with and guiding children, teens, parents and families. As a licensed therapist certified in CBT, TF-CBT, IFS, Somatic Experiencing, PCIT, DBT, Parent Management Training, Brainspotting, Safe and Sound Protocol, and, of course, SPACE, my areas of specialty include child anxiety. Outside my private practice, I speak at parenting and education conferences across the country, empowering parents with information and tools to raise healthier, happier families. Learn more about me here.
I believe every parent deserves to tap into their innate power to help their children beat anxiety.
That’s why I’m so excited to offer SPACE training, teaching parents like you how to activate the most powerful healing force in your child’s life – yourself!
SPACE groups with Suri:
How it works
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Join a group
Sign up for seven weeks of one-hour virtual group sessions packed with concrete, actionable information and empathetic guidance.
2
Apply your new skills
With detailed instruction and thorough post-session worksheets supporting you, you’ll have all the tools you need to start making real change in real life.
3
Watch your child blossom
They’ll feel better (so will you!). They’ll function better – as will your family life. They’ll be better equipped to navigate life as healthy, happy people.
What you’ll learn
Click below for a taste of what you’ll gain in each of our seven comprehensive modules:
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Week 1: What is Anxiety Exactly?
Understanding why we humans have anxiety – and why our kids take this “gift” too far.How we’re meant to experience anxiety
What happens when anxiety goes haywire
Understanding our children’s experience
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Week 2: So That’s Why My Child Does That!
Understanding the mechanics of anxiety and the different drivers behind our children’s anxious behavior
Mapping anxiety across our children’s bodies, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Understanding bias, avoidance creep, and other irritating factors of anxiety
Tracing negative or unpleasant behavior back to anxiety
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Week 3: Setting the Stage for SPACE
Gaining a foundational understanding of SPACE treatment, including simple elements to start using immediately
Understanding SPACE in-depth
Accommodation and overprotection vs. support and empowerment
How to provide confidence-building support and validation
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Week 4: From Accommodation to Support
Understanding “accomodations” and identifying where we might be unintentionally reinforcing our child’s anxiety
Determining where we’re unhelpfully accommodating our children’s anxiety
Why we accommodate and what challenges we face in stopping
Practical exercise for identifying and addressing our current accommodations
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Week 5: Full-On Implementation - Stage 1
Officially launching SPACE parenting
Choosing a target behavior to start with
How to explain SPACE to our children and deal with negative reactions
Crafting a child-focused “announcement” for group feedback and refinement
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Week 6: Full-On Implementation - Stage 2
Setting ourselves up for specific, targeted success
Creating a step-by-step plan for gradually reducing target accommodations
Planning for challenges and strategizing ways to deal with them
Engaging supporters and dealing with “big” reactions from our children
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Week 7: Learning how to maintain SPACE long-term and apply it more broadly as time goes on
How to determine the right time and method to target new behaviors with SPACE
How to track progress, recognize change, and stay motivated
Troubleshoot, address challenges we’ve encountered, and perfect our technique
Let us help!
Not sure if SPACE is right for you?
We've designed a 10- Question Quiz to help you decide if SPACE is the right choice for you and your child.
Take the quiz
Take the quiz
Which track fits your needs best?
The Essentials Track
What you get:
7 live SPACE training classes
Worksheets and informational guides to help you implement on your own
Lifetime access to recordings
Bonus content for troubleshooting
Opportunity to connect with other parents in the child anxiety trenches
$150 per session or $1050
Get a strong foundational education in SPACE plus powerful frameworks and tools to help you fully and successfully implement at home.
The VIP Track
What you get:
7 live SPACE training classes
Worksheets and informational guides to help you implement on your own
Lifetime access to recordings
Bonus content for troubleshooting
Opportunity to connection with other parents in the child anxiety trenches
Unlimited access to email questions during duration of the workshop
1:1 session with Suri for custom-tailored guidance and support
$250 per session or $1750
Get bonus 1:1 guidance, an expert eye on any specific doubts or challenges, and individualized emotional support for a potentially painful process.
Contact us to be placed on a waitlist for our next SPACE group.
Only 5 families accepted per group.
faqs
Frequently asked questions
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It's natural to wonder why you, as a parent, should attend a workshop when it's your child experiencing anxiety. SPACE is based on the understanding that parents are a key part of the solution. The way you respond to your child’s anxiety can significantly impact their ability to cope and recover. This SPACE workshop will teach you how to empower them to manage and overcome their anxiety on their own.
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SPACE has been found to be effective for children with separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, illness and health anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and other forms of anxiety. If your child suffers from anything on this list, you’ll probably find SPACE deeply helpful.
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No. Joining a SPACE group workshop provides you with education and support in implementing a parenting approach that’s been proven to ease child anxiety. While SPACE can be implemented in a therapeutic way, this workshop is educational and doesn’t fall into the same category as individual or family therapy.
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Great! You’ve come to the right place. While the workshop is a great, cost-effective way to start, some families choose to get more individually targeted therapeutic support once they’ve completed the workshop. Other families choose to skip right over the group workshop format and opt to work 1:1 with one of our SPACE-trained therapists.
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Nothing. In SPACE, the primary focus is on changes that parents can make to support their child's anxiety management. You don’t need your child’s cooperation or input at all.
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It is helpful if both parents are involved in implementing SPACE, but it’s not a requirement. You can still learn and apply the strategies if you’re parenting alone, or if your co-parent won’t be part of the implementation.
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Insurance does not cover educational groups.
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Workshop members will have opportunities to share experiences, ask questions, and provide support to each other under the guidance of the workshop facilitator – if that’s what they would like to do. While we welcome participant interaction, we recognize that some parents prefer to maintain their privacy. Keeping your video off during the group session is perfectly acceptable.
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Extensive clinical research and evidence demonstrates that SPACE works just as well as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the current gold-standard treatment for child anxiety. A significant proportion of children whose parents participated in SPACE trials were rated “very much” or “much improved” on a clinician-rated improvement scale. Of course, the effectiveness of SPACE can vary depending on individual circumstances like the severity of your child's anxiety and your consistency in applying the strategies.
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As part of the SPACE group workshop, you’ll receive a thorough education about the SPACE approach, guidance for implementation, and support from the workshop facilitator and other group members. You’ll also have access to concrete resources and materials to assist you in applying the techniques at home.
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You can learn more about SPACE by visiting the official website for the SPACE program (https://www.spacetreatment.net/), reading the book "Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents" by Dr. Eli Lebowitz, or consulting with a mental health professional trained in the SPACE approach.
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No. Anxiety is influenced by a variety of factors including genetics, temperament, and life experiences. That said, parental accommodations, though byproducts of our love and care for our children, can often unintentionally reinforce their anxiety.
The good news is that as a parent, you are the most powerful tool your child has in their battle with anxiety. Through SPACE, you'll learn strategies to support your child in facing their fears, building resilience, and living happier, more functional lives.
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SPACE creates significant healing and improvement even when children aren’t in therapy. In some cases, SPACE parenting can eliminate the need for therapy. In other cases, especially when a child’s anxiety is extremely severe, or when underlying issues require addressing, therapy can work as an effective partner alongside SPACE parenting.
Got questions that weren’t answered here?
Book a 15-minute call with Suri to find out whether or not you’re a perfect fit for SPACE group coaching.
Feel equipped. Bring your child relief. Get to know normal life again.
Use your power as a parent to help your child break free from anxiety.