For Children Ages 8–16

What if your child looked forward to their therapy homework?

Independence-Focused Treatment (IFT) is a newer approach to child anxiety built around the idea that kids who are allowed to do things on their own get less anxious. No fear hierarchies or exposure lists required. Offered in person in St. Louis and online.

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Does this sound familiar?

Your child worries constantly and no amount of reassurance seems to help.

At bedtime they’re running through worst-case scenarios. They ask "what if" questions over and over. Before school, before practice, and before anything new the anxiety ramps up, and so does the asking: Are you sure it'll be okay? What if something goes wrong? Can you just come with me? There’s also the avoidance. They won't go without you. They text constantly when you're apart. They back out of things other kids their age do and when you try to encourage them, it turns into a battle or a meltdown. You've probably already tried reassuring them and calming them down. You've worked around their anxiety to keep the peace and get through the day. You may have even looked into exposure therapy or CBT as a next step, which is good advice. But if you've tried that route and your child refused to engage, or if the idea of a fear ladder is already making you tired, IFT may be worth knowing about.
Traditional exposure therapy works but some kids struggle with it. They know they're being pushed toward things that scare them, and they push back. IFT gets to the same place through a different door.
IFT doesn't ask your child to confront their fears directly. Instead, it builds the confidence and real-world capability that make anxiety less powerful over time.

About the treatment

What is Independence-Focused Treatment?

IFT is a cognitive-behavioral treatment developed specifically for anxious, avoidant children. It was created by Dr. Camilo Ortiz and is grounded in decades of research on how child anxiety develops and what works to improve it. The core of IFT is something called independence activities. These are real-world tasks your child chooses and completes without parental help. Things like riding their bike to the park, cooking something on their own, exploring the neighborhood, or taking on a project they've designed themselves. These aren't random challenges. They're carefully selected to address the same mechanisms that research has identified as driving and maintaining child anxiety, and include behavioral avoidance, unhelpful thinking patterns, and the habit of relying on parents to manage situations that feel overwhelming. IFT targets all of these too, just through a route that doesn't require your child to face their fears head-on.
If your child's doctor recommended CBT or exposure therapy, that's still good guidance. IFT works in the same way, it just gets there through independence and real-world experience rather than formal exposure exercises.
Because kids get to choose their activities and don't experience IFT as a fear hierarchy, most engage with it more easily than traditional exposure work. They're not being asked to do something scary. They're being given permission to do something they've wanted to do and something that’s fun. That can make a big difference in determining if therapy homework gets done. The anxiety reduction that happens afterwards is a direct result of the practices. When a child repeatedly handles real situations on their own without checking in, without escaping, and without a parent nearby to make it okay, they build evidence that they can manage. They learn that they’re strong, that they can handle discomfort, and that they can solve problems. That confidence changes anxious thinking over time.
5–6
sessions in a typical course of treatment
8–16
the age range IFT is designed for
✓
Promising early data with moderate effect sizes
Ortiz & Fastman, 2023

The process

How IFT works, step by step

IFT is a structured program with a clear plan. Here's what to expect from start to finish.
1

Parent consultation (Session 1)

We start with parents alone. We talk through your child's anxiety, what avoidance looks like at home, and how the program works. You'll leave with a clear picture of what IFT involves and what will be asked of you.
2

Planning with your child (Session 2)

Your child joins the next session. Together, we brainstorm a list of independence activities, which are things they actually want to do. We build a schedule and your child goes home with their first assignment to try something they're genuinely excited about.
3

Doing and refining (Sessions 3–4)

Your child completes activities between sessions (at least one per day). We meet to review what happened, problem-solve anything that got in the way, and gradually raise the bar. Parents also work on stepping back and letting results speak for themselves.
4

Booster and wrap-up (Sessions 5–6)

We review progress, talk through how to keep momentum going after treatment ends, and make sure your family has a plan for handling future anxiety when it comes up.

What independence activities look like

Real activities = Real confidence.

Independence activities are chosen with your child based on their interests, age, and current comfort level. Here's a sample of the kinds of things kids in IFT do:
Ride a bike to the park
Cook something over the stove
Explore the neighborhood solo
Walk home from school
Climb a tree
Start a lemonade stand
Go fishing
Order and pay for take out
Walk a neighbor’s dog
Change a tire
Sleep in the backyard
Interview a neighbor
Run an errand independently
Play at the park with new kids
Use woodcutting tools

Activities are always matched to your child's developmental level and are designed to be challenging but not overwhelming. The goal isn't to tolerate anxiety, it’s to give them experiences that prove they're more capable than their anxiety has told them.

Is IFT right for your child?

Who IFT works best for

IFT is a strong fit for some kids and families and a less obvious fit for others. Here's an honest look at both.

IFT tends to be a good fit when...

    • Your child is between 8 and 16 years old
    • They avoid things other kids their age do without much difficulty
    • They rely heavily on you for reassurance or check-ins
    • They've been reluctant to engage with traditional therapy or exposure work
    • You're willing to step back and let them practice being independent
    • Anxiety is showing up as avoidance more than panic

IFT may not be the right first step if...

    • Your child has severe panic disorder, OCD, or school refusal requiring more intensive support first
    • There are significant safety concerns that make real-world independence genuinely risky right now
    • Your child has a co-occurring condition that needs to be addressed separately

Not sure? That's what the consultation is for. We'll give you a straight answer about whether IFT makes sense for your child or whether something else is the better starting point.

 

What parents do in IFT

Your role matters (and it might surprise you)

Parents are actively involved in IFT, but probably not in the way you'd expect. Most of the work isn't about doing more. It's about doing less in specific ways and then watching what happens when your child has room to figure things out on their own. We'll talk about how parenting has changed since we were kids and how well-intentioned parenting can accidentally keep anxiety going. Most often, this looks like stepping in too quickly when things get hard, providing reassurance that temporarily soothes but doesn't build real confidence, and avoiding situations that make your child anxious rather than helping them face them. There’s no judgment here. Every parent in this situation is doing what feels right and loving. IFT gives you a more effective set of tools and most parents find that stepping back is actually a relief, not a burden.
The goal isn't to make your child less afraid. It's to make them more capable and confident, so that fear stops getting in the way naturally.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Traditional CBT for anxiety often involves exposure therapy, which means deliberately facing feared situations in a structured way. That approach has strong evidence behind it, but many kids struggle to engage with it in a way that benefits them. IFT works differently. The activities your child does are real, fun, and chosen by them. They're not designed to trigger anxiety, they're designed to build independence. The anxiety reduction tends to follow naturally from the confidence that comes with doing things on their own.
A standard course of IFT is 6 sessions spread over roughly 6 weeks. Sessions vary in length and structure. Some sessions include parents only, some include the child. Between sessions, your child completes independence activities at home, typically one per day. The efficiency of the treatment is one of its real strengths, particularly compared to longer-term therapy models.
This is one of the most common things we hear. Because the program centers on activities your child chooses and actually wants to do, most kids engage with it more readily than traditional therapy. We introduce IFT to your child by focusing on independence and growing up, not on their anxiety. For a lot of kids, that reframe makes a significant difference in their willingness to participate.
Activities are carefully matched to your child's age and developmental level. They involve mild, real-world challenge, and not anything genuinely dangerous. We plan for safety as part of the process. Your child will always have a way to reach you in a true emergency. That said, some uncertainty is the point. Learning to handle things when they don't go perfectly is one of the most valuable things IFT teaches. We'll prepare both you and your child for that.
IFT is best suited for anxious, avoidant children. These are kids whose anxiety shows up primarily as withdrawal, dependence, and reluctance to do age-appropriate things independently. It's a particularly good fit for separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, and social anxiety presentations that involve avoidance. For children with more acute presentations like severe panic disorder or OCD, we'd discuss whether IFT is the right starting point or whether a different approach should come first.
Parents are central to IFT, especially in the early sessions. You'll meet with your clinician before your child joins, and you'll play an active role in planning and supporting independence activities at home. You'll also be asked to reflect on your own patterns, thinking specifically about ways you may be inadvertently reinforcing avoidance. This isn't a large time commitment, but it does require genuine engagement. The families who get the most out of IFT are the ones where parents are willing to experiment with stepping back.
IFT is a newer treatment, developed by Dr. Camilo Ortiz. Preliminary research shows promising results. A pilot study found moderate effect sizes with high acceptability among both children and parents. The theoretical foundations of IFT are firmly grounded in decades of research on how anxiety develops and what maintains it. We think the early evidence is genuinely encouraging, and we're transparent that larger trials are still underway. We offer IFT as one option among several, and we'll always give you our honest clinical opinion on whether it's the right fit.
The final sessions of IFT specifically address how to keep momentum going after treatment ends, including how to handle anxiety when it comes up in the future. If a child completes IFT and significant anxiety remains, we'll have a clear conversation about what to try next. That could be using a different approach, additional sessions, or a referral. Our goal is always to give your child the most effective path forward, not to stick with any one model past its usefulness.

Ready to find out if IFT is right for your child?

Schedule a free consultation. We'll talk through where your child is, what they're struggling with, and whether IFT is the right fit or whether something else might serve them better. Book My  Free Consultation 

No commitment required.