Message Follow-Up: Eliza Petrova

Dear Elena and Ivan,

It was a pleasure meeting you and Eliza today for our initial assessment session. Thank you for sharing so openly about the challenges you've been facing and your hopes for therapy. I especially appreciate Eliza's bravery in talking about her worries.

Based on our conversation and the information you provided, it seems the primary focus is helping Eliza manage the intense fear of vomiting (emetophobia) that is significantly impacting her daily life (eating, school, social activities) and causing distress for the whole family.

As we discussed, the most effective, evidence-based approach for this is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). This involves:

• Learning more about anxiety and how avoidance keeps fear going.
• Developing coping skills to manage anxious feelings.
• Gradually and collaboratively facing feared situations in manageable steps (exposure).
• Learning to resist safety behaviors like excessive reassurance seeking or avoidance (response prevention).

A crucial part of this process is parental involvement. We'll work together on strategies to support Eliza effectively, manage stress, and ensure you both feel aligned in your approach. Your partnership is key to Eliza's success.

Here are a couple of resources you might find helpful as we begin:

• Understanding ERP for Kids and Teens (Link to Little Otter Resource)
• Parenting an Anxious Child: Tips & Strategies (Link to Little Otter Resource)
• Getting on the Same Page: Supporting Your Child Together (Link to Little Otter Resource)

Our next session is scheduled for Thursday at 4:00 PM. We'll start by diving deeper into understanding anxiety.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if any immediate questions come up before then, though we'll cover much more next time.

Thank you again for taking this important step. I look forward to working with your family.

Warmly,

Dr. Anya Sharma (Therapist)