The Pediatric Anxiety Research Center

Located at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, Rhode Island
In affiliation with the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Reading with Magnifying Glass

past studies

The PARC team has been at the forefront of pediatric OCD and anxiety treatment for many years.

Family Based Treatment of Early Childhood OCD

This is a collaborative, multi-site study with Duke University Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The study is designed to test a family based Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) manual against a family based Relaxation Therapy (RT) manual in 5 through 8 year old children with OCD.

Closed for recruitment

Child Anxiety Disorders:
Parenting and Temperament Effects

This is a child anxiety assessment study where children 8 to 12 will receive an anxiety evaluation and participate in observations of family processes. We are interested in seeing how anxious children and their mothers talk about problems and interact in different situations.

Closed for recruitment

Pediatric OCD Treatment Study: Augmentation of Partial Response

This was a treatment study for children and adolescents (ages 7-17) with OCD, who still had symptoms after pharmacological treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). This study investigated the addition of CBT for those who partially responded to therapy with an SSRI alone.

Closed for recruitment

Pediatric OCD Treatment Study

This multi-site treatment study evaluated the effectiveness of CBT alone, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) alone, and combined CBT and SSRI treatment for children and adolescents (ages 7-17) with OCD. Results showed that children and adolescents with OCD should begin treatment with CBT alone or a combination of CBT and an SSRI.

Closed for recruitment

Several Open Books

Selected publications

Family-based treatment of early-onset OCD.

Freeman, J.B., Garcia, A.M., Fucci, C., Karitani, M., Miller, L., Leonard, H.L. (2003). Family-based treatment of early-onset OCD. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 13 (Suppl. 1), S71-S80.

The Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (2004). Cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline, and their combination for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (2004). Cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline, and their combination for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. JAMA, 292(16), 1969-1976. Roles in study: Co-investigator at Brown site, acquisition of data, and revision of manuscript.

Tics Moderate Treatment Outcome with Medication but Not CBT in Pediatric OCD

March, J.S., Franklin, M.E., Leonard, H.L., Garcia A.M., Moore, P.S., Freeman, J.B., Foa, E. (2007). Tics Moderate Treatment Outcome with Medication but Not CBT in Pediatric OCD. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 344-347.

Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Young Children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Freeman, J.B., Choate-Summers, M.L., Moore, P.M., Garcia, A. M. Sapyta, J.J. Leonard, H.L., Franklin, M.E. (2007). Cognitive behavioral treatment for young children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 61, 337-343.

Clinical Considerations when Tailoring Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Young Children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Choate-Summers, M., Freeman, J., Garcia, A., Coyne, L., Przeworski, A., & Leonard, H. (2008). Clinical considerations when tailoring cognitive behavioral treatment for young children with obsessive compulsive disorder. Education and Treatment of Children, 31, 395-416.

Preliminary Findings from a Family-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

Freeman, J.F., Garcia, A.M., Coyne, L.W, Ale, C., Przeworski, A., Himle, M., Compton, S., Leonard, H.L. (2008). Early childhood OCD: Preliminary findings from a family-based cognitive-behavioral approach, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 593-602.

Phenomenology of Early Onset Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Garcia, A.M., Freeman, J.B., Himle,. M., Berman, N.C., Ogata, A.K., Ng, J.S., Choate-Summers, M., Leonard, H.L. (2009). Phenomenology of early onset obsessive compulsive disorder, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31 (2), 104-111.

The Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment Study II: Rationale, Design and Methods

Freeman, J. Choate-Summers, M., Garcia, A., Moore, P., Sapayta, J., Khanna, M., March, J., Foa, E., Franklin, M. (2009). The Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treatment Study II: Rationale, Design and Methods. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 3(1):4.

Predictors of Treatment Outcome in the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study

Garcia, A.M., Sapyta, J., Moore, P.S., Freeman, J., Franklin, M., March, J.S., Foa, E.B. (2010). Predictors of treatment outcome in the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 1024-1033.

Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent-Report (FAS-PR)

Flessner, C.A., Sapyta, J., Garcia, A., Freeman, J.B., Franklin, M.E., Foa, E., & March, J. (2011). Examining the Psychometric Properties of the Family Accommodation Scale-Parent-Report (FAS-PR). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33, 38-46.

The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Reliability and Validity for Use Among 5 to 8 Year Olds with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Freeman, J.B., Flessner, C.A., Garcia, A.M. (2011). The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale: Reliability and Validity for Use Among 5 to 8 Year Olds with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(6), 877-883.

Predictors of Parental Accommodation in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Findings from the POTS Trial

Flessner, C. A., Freeman, J. B., Sapyta, J., Garcia, A., Franklin, M. E., March, J et al. (2011). Predictors of Parental Accommodation in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Findings from the Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment Study (POTS) trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50(7) 716-725.

Still Struggling: Characteristics of Youth with OCD who are Partial Responders to Medication Treatment

Freeman, J.B., Sapyta, J., Garcia, A., Fitzgerald, D., Khanna, M., Choate-Summers, M., Moore, P., Chrisman, A., Haff, N., Naeem, A., March, J., and Franklin, M. (2011). Still Struggling: Characteristics of Youth with OCD who are Partial Responders to Medication Treatment. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 42(4), 424-441.

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Augmentation of Pharmacotherapy in Pediatric OCD: The POTS II Randomized, Controlled Trial

Franklin, M.E., Sapyta, J., Freeman, J.B., Khanna, M., Compton, S., Almirall, D., Moore, P., Choate-Summers, M., Garcia, A., Edson, A.L., Foa, E.B., March, J.S. (2011). Cognitive-behavior therapy augmentation of pharmacotherapy in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder: The Pediatric OCD Treatment Study II (POTS II) randomized, controlled trial. JAMA.

Maternal and Child Expressed Emotion as Predictors of Treatment Responses in Pediatric OCD

Przeworski, A., Zoellner, L.A., Franklin, M.E., Garcia, A., Freeman, J., March, J.S., & Foa, E.B. (2012). Maternal and Child Expressed Emotion as Predictors of Treatment Responses in Pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development.