Anxiety disorders are a frequent cause of poor wellbeing among children and adolescents. Without help, many will continue to experience anxiety into adulthood. With DKK 7 million in funding from the Independent Research Fund Denmark, Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt will contribute to knowledge about more accessible and evidence-based treatment options for children and adolescents with anxiety.

She will do this by comparing the effects of two treatment programmes for children and adolescents with anxiety: cognitive behavioural therapy and metacognitive therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy is an evidence-based intervention focusing on changing thought patterns and behaviours, while metacognitive therapy focuses on changing how individuals respond to thoughts rather than their content.

At present, cognitive-behavioural therapy is the recommended treatment for children and adolescents with anxiety. Metacognitive therapy, on the other hand, is a newer treatment approach that has shown promising results for adults with anxiety and is increasingly being used in Danish clinical practice. However, there is still a lack of studies investigating the effects of metacognitive therapy on anxiety in children and adolescents, as well as studies comparing the method directly with cognitive behavioural therapy in a randomised controlled set-up.

Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt will investigate which of the two methods is most effective – both in the short and the long term. She will also examine for which groups of children and adolescents the two methods work best. The project is carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Wellbeing, Aarhus Municipality, and includes Associate Professor Henrik Nordahl from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and co-PI Professor Mikael Thastum. Mikael Thastum is part of the Centre for the Psychological Treatment of Children and Adolescents (CEBU) headed by Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt.

Together, the group also aims to identify the therapeutic mechanisms within the two treatment methods that generate the greatest effects. This will contribute to a deeper understanding of both cognitive behavioural therapy and metacognitive therapy.

The overall aim of the project is to prevent further poor wellbeing among children and adolescents with anxiety and to avoid the negative consequences associated with anxiety disorders. The project’s findings will provide guidance for municipalities, psychiatry, and private providers in choosing the most appropriate intervention.

Further info

• Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt is head of the Centre for Psychological Treatment of Children and Adolescents (CEBU) at Aarhus BSS, Aarhus University. Read more about Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt and her research
• Read more about the Centre for Psychological Treatment of Children and Adolescents (CEBU)
• Johanne Jeppesen Lomholt has received DKK 7,007,696 from the funding programme Research into vulnerability and poor wellbeing, one of the 12 politically determined themes funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark in 2025. Her project is titled “Metacognitive therapy versus cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with anxiety: a randomized controlled trial”. Read more about the grants in the press release from the Independent Research Fund Denmark