Cognitive behavior therapy

Increasingly, attention is turning to the significance of children\u27s mental health. This attention results from a confluence of information sources col lectively emphasizing the prevalence of childhood problems. Epidemiologi-cal estimates for the prevalence rates of childhood emotional and behavioral disorders range between 15 and 22% (e.g., McCracken, 1992; Roberts, Att-kisson,&Rosenblatt, 1998; Rutter, 1989; Kazdin&Weisz, 2003a; WHO, 2001). These rates may be underestimates as epidemiological studies often do not include children exhibiting subclinical distress despite the fact that these subclinical conditions have been found to be associated with sig nificant functional impairments (e.g., Angold, Costello, Farmer, Burns,&Erkanli, 1999). Childhood difficulties have been associated with problems in adolescent and adult adjustment (e.g., Colman, Wadsworth, Croudace,&Jones, 2007). Evidence exists suggesting that childhood psychopathology has long-term social consequences including truncated educational attain ment, teen parenthood, early marriage, and marital instability (e.g., Kes-sler, Berglund, Foster, Saunders, Stang,&Walters, 1997; Kessler, Molnar, Feurer&Appelbaum, 2001; Kessler, Foster, Saunders,&Stang, 1995; Kes-sler, Walters,&Forthofer, 1998; Forthofer, Kessler, Story,&Gotlib, 1996). Despite the evidence that a large number of children are diagnosed or at risk for disorder, research has suggested that as few as 40% of chil dren experiencing mental health problems receive help and only about 20% receive specialty mental health services (Burns et al., 1995). Hence, there is a real need for easily accessed, client-acceptable, and effective interventions for childhood mental health issues. In recent years, the child therapy literature has grown with a profusion of empirical investigations of efficacy. Many of these investigative efforts have involved cognitive-behavioral treatments. © 2009 Springer New York