Small Heroes - an intervention for children with anxiety, worry or fears
There is a lack of evidence-based methods within primary psychiatric care to reduce and prevent emotional problems in young children, such as anxiety and worry. In the project Small Heroes, researchers collaborate with clinicians and parents to jointly adapt and evaluate an internet-based parenting intervention. The goal is to improve children’s emotional health and prevent issues such as worry, fears and anxiety.
Anxiety issues among children and adolescents have increased in recent years. Parent-based CBT is recommended to help young children with anxiety and to prevent future difficulties, but access to such treatment is very limited for young children and their parents. One way to increase access to CBT is to deliver it online. This enables the intervention to be scaled and offered to more parents without requiring them to take time off during the day. An additional advantage is that internet-based interventions can easily be translated into various languages.
Internationally, there are several parent-based CBT treatments that have shown positive effects for children with anxiety issues. Small Heroes is being adapted from these methods to fit within primary psychiatric care for young children aged 0–5 years. The project is being conducted and evaluated in collaboration with Malina healthcare centres in Region Stockholm.
The project examines
- Components and delivery methods perceived as helpful by clinicians and parents
- Support or changes to clinical routines needed to implement Small Heroes in primary psychiatric care for young children
- The preliminary effect of internet-based, parent-led CBT for young children
Status of the project
The project is being evaluated in a pilot study during 2025. If funding is granted for a randomized controlled trial, such a study will be conducted.
Ethics and funding
The study is approved by the Swedish Ethics Review Authority and funded by FORTE (Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare).
Project members
Maria Lalouni
Principal investigator
Sara Harmenberg
Project coordinatorLic. Psychologist with experience in working with children and parents