Explain childhood anxiety and the stepped-care plan to parents — OSCE

Candidate instructions

Explain that anxiety disorders are real, common and treatable (not bad parenting or attention-seeking), outline the worry cycle and how exposure-based CBT helps the brain learn the threat is survivable, discuss reducing accommodation without blame, cover when an SSRI such as sertraline might be added and how you monitor for activation and suicidal thoughts, check understanding, and agree a shared plan. The examiner plays a parent. ^{[1] [2] [3]}