ABSTRACT
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an increasingly applied framework for group interventions for a variety of presenting problems in children and adolescents. CBT is a structured collaborative approach that focuses on skill building; it is time-limited and goal oriented, and thus has multiple benefits for use in a group setting (Olatunji, Cisler, & Deacon, 2010). In groups, CBT can be used proactively and preventively to remediate subclinical symptoms, decreasing incidence rates for certain disorders (Christner, Stewart, & Freeman, 2007; Mennuti, Christner, & Freeman, 2012). This method has been used successfully with children and adolescents with depression, anxiety, anger and aggression, and eating disorders (Ollendick & King, 2004). CBT promotes changes in behaviors and patterns of thinking within the young person’s social context. As such, it emphasizes problem solving, cognitive information processing, coping skills, and interpersonal relationships within a performancebased framework in which practice is a critical component (Kaufman, 2015). CBT fits contextually in multiple service delivery settings, including clinical and private practice settings, as well as schools (see Christner et al., 2007).
