The purpose of this study was to discuss the development of the Children’s Pleasant Activity Scale (CPAS), and to evaluate its reliability and validity. The CPAS, along with questionnaires regarding depressive/anxious symptoms, positive/negative affect, and social skills, were completed by 331 children. The reliability and validity of the CPAS was evaluated based on COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments: de Vet et al., 2011; Terwee et al., 2011). Despite several limitations, the results suggest that the CPAS has adequate reliability (internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measurement errors) and validity (face validity, structural validity, and hypothesis testing). Item response theory analyses indicated that the CPAS had adequate measurement accuracy in children who reported moderate frequencies of pleasant activities. The results are discussed with respect to clinical applicability of interventions focusing on pleasant activities in children, limitations of the present study, and issues for future research.

This study investigated the efficacy and effectiveness of an avoidance behavior-focused transdiagnostic intervention program (ATP) for anxiety and depression among children and adolescents using an open trail design. The program was provided individually to each participant and contained six sessions: 1) psychoeducation about emotions, 2) functional assessment, 3) identification of avoidance behaviors, 4) identification of avoidance situations, 5) challenges of avoidance behaviors, and 6) review of the program and discussion on future goals. Eight children/adolescents with anxiety/depressive disorders completed the program. The results indicated improvements in clinician-rated severity of principal disorder diagnosis and number of diagnoses, child-reported anxiety/depressive symptoms, parent-reported anxiety symptoms, and child-reported emotional symptoms at post-treatment. These results demonstrated the efficacy and effectiveness of the ATP as a transdiagnostic intervention for children and adolescents with anxiety and depression. Despite certain limitations, the study provides a valuable discussion, particularly in the context of mechanisms of exposure and behavioral activation in anxiety and depression.

This paper reports on a case of individual cognitive behavioral therapy for a woman experiencing agoraphobia (anxiety of entering open places) with comorbid panic disorder and restrictions on meal contents consumed due to emetophobia (fear of vomiting). Two associated beliefs were identified: 1) a physical internal sensation, such as a discomfort in the throat, is a precursor to vomiting; and 2) other people will evaluate vomiting as negative. Prior to implementing treatment, we adopted a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to panic disorders (Seki & Shimizu, 2016) associated with emetophobia. Before and after treatment, the average points on the emetophobia rating scale decreased from 78.0 to 37.3, and the SUDs of vomiting decreased from 70 to 20. A remarkable response was observed in the panic and agoraphobia related symptoms after treatment via remote cognitive behavioral therapy, primarily using video-conferencing. The findings suggested that these techniques can improve symptoms of severe emetophobia, and may lead to generalizations of uses of these psychological interventions.