SPACE Therapy for parents & Families
SPACE Therapy for Anxiety & OCD | Parent-Led Treatment in Long Beach, CA & Online
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Caught between helping and enabling.
When your child, or adult child, struggles with anxiety or OCD, the impact often shows up most clearly in your day-to-day life. You may find yourself constantly managing distress, adjusting routines, offering reassurance, or trying to prevent things from escalating. Over time, this can leave you feeling tense, worn down, and unsure whether your efforts are helping or unintentionally keeping symptoms going.
Many parents feel caught in an exhausting bind: wanting to reduce their child's anxiety or OCD while feeling uncertain about how to do so without increasing distress, conflict, or dependence. You may worry about your child's future, second-guess your responses, or feel guilty setting limits, even when you know something needs to change.
What you may find yourself doing
How it can leave you feeling
SPACE therapy is designed to reduce a child's anxiety or OCD symptoms by helping parents change how they respond to distress and accommodation patterns. By focusing on parent-led changes, SPACE supports a child's ability to tolerate discomfort, build independence, and regain flexibility over time, even when the child is not ready or willing to participate in therapy.
WHAT IS SPACE THERAPY?
A treatment that starts with you.
S upportive
P arenting for
A nxious
C hildhood
E motions
SPACE is a research-supported, parent-based treatment for children, teens, emerging adults, and adult children with anxiety, OCD, and related challenges, including Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
Rather than working directly with the child, SPACE focuses on helping parents make specific, intentional changes that reduce symptoms over time.
You are the focus
You, the parent or caregiver, are the primary focus of treatment.
Parent-only sessions
Sessions are conducted with parents only.
Your child doesn't attend
Children do not need to attend therapy for progress to occur.
Any stage of care
Effective whether or not your child is currently in therapy.
As effective as CBT
Research-supported results
SPACE delivered with parents only is as effective at reducing child anxiety and OCD symptoms as individual CBT delivered directly to the child, a powerful option when children are unwilling, ambivalent, or unable to engage in therapy themselves.
WHO SPACE IS FOR
SPACE may be a good fit if you are…
SPACE can help whether or not your child is currently in therapy.
A parent of a child or teen
with anxiety, OCD, selective mutism, ARFID, or related challenges
A parent of an emerging adult or adult child
including failure to launch, prolonged dependence, or difficulty moving toward independence due to anxiety, avoidance, or eating-related distress
A parent whose child refuses therapy
or is ambivalent about treatment, or has disengaged from care
Feeling stuck between helping and enabling
unsure whether your efforts are helping or keeping symptoms going
A caregiver feeling burned out
anxious, overwhelmed, or worn down by managing distress every day
How SPACE Works
Less accommodation, more support.
SPACE focuses on two core areas, worked on together.
Reducing accommodation
Accommodation includes well-intended responses that prevent distress. While understandable, these patterns can unintentionally maintain anxiety, OCD, or ARFID-related avoidance. SPACE helps parents reduce accommodation gradually and compassionately, without increasing conflict.
- Frequent reassurance
- Avoiding triggers
- Joining rituals
- Adjusting routines
- Modifying meals
Increasing support
At the same time, SPACE emphasizes warmth, empathy, and connection. Parents learn how to clearly communicate support while encouraging tolerance of distress and independence.
- Warmth
- Empathy
- Connection
- Confidence in your child
The balance of less accommodation and more support is what allows anxiety, OCD, and ARFID-related symptoms to decrease over time.
WHAT PARENTS GAIN
Feel steadier & more confident.
Through SPACE therapy, parents learn to:
Understand how anxiety, OCD, and ARFID-related avoidance are maintained
Respond differently to distress without reinforcing symptoms
Set limits with clarity, warmth, and confidence
Tolerate your own anxiety during the change process
Reduce power struggles and emotional escalation
Restore balance within the family system
As parents feel more confident and grounded, many notice that both their child's symptoms and their own stress levels begin to improve.
EMERGING ADULTS · ADULT CHILDREN · FAILURE TO LAUNCH
Support growth without ultimatums.
SPACE is especially helpful for parents of emerging adults and adult children whose anxiety, avoidance, or eating-related distress has interfered with independence, school, work, or daily functioning.
In these situations, parents often feel torn between wanting to help and fearing they are contributing to dependence. SPACE provides a clear, respectful framework for supporting growth.
Moving toward
Without
You don't have to wait for your child to be ready
One of the most important aspects of SPACE therapy is that change can begin even if your child, emerging adult, or adult child is not ready or willing to engage in treatment.
By supporting parents in making thoughtful, evidence-based changes, SPACE offers a way to reduce anxiety-, OCD-, and ARFID-related symptoms and restore balance within the family system.
Schedule a free consultation →
NEXT STEPS
A clear, parent-led way forward.
When anxiety or OCD has begun to control daily life, your child is not ready or willing to make changes, and you need support now, SPACE therapy offers a clear path forward.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
I would love to help you and your family take steps toward family well-being. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to explore whether SPACE therapy is a good fit for you or your family.
Commonly Asked Questions
FAQ’s
Does my child need to attend sessions?
No. SPACE is delivered with parents only. Your child doesn't need to attend, or even agree to treatment, for progress to occur.
Can SPACE help if my child is already in therapy?
Yes. SPACE can be effective whether or not your child is currently in therapy, and it can complement the work they're doing with another provider.
Is SPACE only for young children?
No. SPACE supports parents of children, teens, emerging adults, and adult children, including situations involving failure to launch or prolonged dependence.