Specialties · Plano office and Texas telehealth
A parent-based treatment that helps you ease your child’s anxiety, OCD, or ARFID, even when they won’t come to therapy.
In person or online
Plano office, Texas telehealth
Evidence-based
research-backed approaches
At a glance
SPACE, which stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions, is a treatment for childhood anxiety and OCD where only the parents come to sessions. It was developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz at the Yale Child Study Center, and a version called SPACE-ARFID helps children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
Child therapy
SPACE
Your child, with some parent sessions
Parents only
Needed for therapy to work
Not needed
Your child’s skills and exposures
How the family responds to anxiety
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has strong research
In a 2020 trial, SPACE helped about as much as CBT with the child
Works well alongside SPACE
Works well alongside your child’s own treatment
Read more in When your child refuses therapy and Family accommodation in OCD.
All of this comes from love. SPACE helps you respond in a way that builds your child’s confidence.
On this page
Overview
SPACE, which stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions, is a treatment for childhood anxiety and OCD where only the parents come to sessions. It was developed at the Yale Child Study Center, and there’s a version called SPACE-ARFID for children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID).
If your child is anxious, caught up in OCD rituals, eating only a handful of foods, or refusing therapy altogether, SPACE gives you a clear way to help at home. At Layers, SPACE is offered by Rachel Tipsword, LCSW, in Plano and online across Texas.
SPACE was developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz. It’s built on a simple observation: when a child is anxious, loving parents naturally step in to help, and over time those helpful changes, called accommodations, can end up keeping the anxiety in charge. SPACE teaches you to respond with both warmth and confidence, and to gently step back from accommodations one at a time.
None of this means you’ve done something wrong. It means you love your child. In a 2020 clinical trial, SPACE reduced child anxiety about as well as CBT with the child, by changing what parents do.
SPACE follows a structured, step-by-step plan, usually over about 12 weekly sessions.
You’ll learn the heart of SPACE: responding to anxious moments with acceptance and confidence. Something like, “I know this feels really scary, and I know you can handle it.”
Together we map how anxiety has reshaped your family’s routines, then pick one target and plan how to reduce it gradually.
Kids often protest when things change. We’ll prepare you with words and strategies so you can stay calm and kind without giving in.
If your child’s eating is restricted, we plan any mealtime changes with their doctor so nutrition stays protected.
Who it's for
For separation anxiety, social anxiety, phobias, panic, or constant worry, SPACE helps you respond in ways that build courage instead of avoidance.
SPACE helps you step out of OCD’s rituals while staying close to your child, and it pairs well with ERP when your child is ready for their own treatment.
With SPACE-ARFID, we help you ease food-related accommodations and respond calmly at mealtimes, alongside or before your child’s own ARFID treatment.
Because parents attend the sessions, your child doesn’t have to agree to treatment for things to start changing.
SPACE follows a step-by-step plan built around your family’s real routines.
You learn to respond to anxious moments with acceptance and confidence, like “I know this feels really scary, and I know you can handle it.”
Together we map how anxiety has reshaped your family’s routines.
You pick one accommodation and plan how to reduce it gradually.
Kids often protest when things change. We prepare you with words and strategies so you can stay calm and kind.
If your child’s eating is restricted, we plan any mealtime changes with their doctor so nutrition stays protected. SPACE pairs well with ERP when your child is ready for their own treatment.
Why Layers
Rachel works alongside our OCD and anxiety therapists, so your parent work and your child’s own treatment, now or later, can happen under one roof.
Your plan fits your family’s actual days: school mornings, dinner, bedtime, and the moments anxiety shows up most.
SPACE works well by video, so parents anywhere in Texas can take part, together or from two places.
A 15-minute video call with the therapist. Ask about their approach, scheduling and fees. Most people start within about a week.
Fifty minutes with you on how anxiety shows up at home and what a hard day looks like.
You start practicing new ways to respond in anxious moments.
Together you choose one accommodation to change and plan how to handle pushback.
Who you'll work with
Read about each therapist’s experience and approach to care.
Rachel treats OCD in kids and adults and specializes in ARFID, when eating narrows to a few safe foods. Through SPACE, she coaches parents to help an anxious child, even one not ready for therapy.
rachel-tipsword
https://layerscounselingspecialists.clientsecure.me/request/date?clinicianId=1532211¤tTimeZone=America%2FChicago&preselected=true
Accepting new clients
Book a free consultYes. Parents attend the sessions, so your child doesn’t have to agree to treatment for things to start changing.
It helps when both parents or caregivers take part, and SPACE works well by video, together or from two places.
SPACE is designed for parents of children and teens. We talk through whether it fits your family on the free consult call.
Yes. SPACE-ARFID helps you ease food-related accommodations and respond calmly at mealtimes, alongside or before your child’s own ARFID treatment.
Yes. Sessions happen at our Plano office or by secure video from anywhere in Texas.
We are private pay, so nothing goes through your insurance unless you choose to submit it. We can give you a superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement, and HSA and FSA cards work.
Next step
A free 15-minute video call with the clinician you want to work with. Ask anything about their approach, scheduling, or fees before you commit.
