BOSTON, Nov. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InStride Health, a leading insurance-based provider of specialty anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treatment for children, adolescents and young adults, today announced data revealing how the company’s coordinated care model can alleviate the substantial toll caregivers face when supporting children with anxiety and/or OCD. The brief, From Strain to Strength: The Vital Role of Caregivers in Youth Anxiety and OCD Treatment, uses InStride’s proprietary data to reveal the emotional, practical, and financial strain on caregivers, and how evidence-based treatment can ease the child’s symptoms as well as caregiver burden.
Nearly one-third of U.S. youth will meet criteria for an anxiety disorder by age 18, yet three in five children and adolescents with anxiety do not receive treatment. That lack of treatment creates challenges not only for patients, but for their caregivers, who often experience significant emotional and practical strain as they support their child with anxiety or OCD. This can entail missed work, financial pressures, and feelings of sadness. Caregiving, including among parents of youth with anxiety, can contribute to lost productivity, absenteeism, and emotional depletion, costing US employers nearly $44 billion each year.
InStride’s evidence-based care model provides real-time support for patients and caregivers during and between sessions. Caregivers take part in individual family and group sessions that teach practical strategies and foster connection with others navigating similar challenges. After completing the program:
93% of caregivers reported reduced instances of missed work or neglecting duties83% of caregivers reported a reduction in feeling tired or strained80% of caregivers reported a reduction in feeling sad or unhappy97% of caregivers said they would recommend InStride to a friend
Family members of youth with anxiety often engage in family accommodation behaviors which can include adjusting routines, engaging in rituals, and offering repeated reassurance to ease a child’s distress. Though well-intentioned, these behaviors can reinforce symptoms by promoting avoidance and dependence. InStride’s data show reduced family accommodation following care. While nearly all caregivers (99%) reported accommodation behaviors at intake, three-quarters (75%) saw reductions by graduation. Effective care models like InStride’s help caregivers gradually reduce these behaviors, empowering young people to build independence and face their fears.
InStride’s data are derived from hundreds of families who completed its virtual treatment program for youth anxiety and OCD between July 2024 and June 2025. Using validated caregiver assessments, the findings highlight both the emotional and practical toll of caregiving and how evidence-based, family-inclusive treatment can reduce that strain and strengthen family well-being.
“Our data bring to light what so many families already know firsthand: when a child experiences anxiety or OCD, it ripples through the entire family,” said Kathryn Boger, PhD, ABPP, co-founder and chief clinical officer of InStride Health. “Caregivers are doing everything they can, often quietly and without adequate support. These data give voice to the challenges caregivers face and show that, with the right interventions, their wellbeing can improve too.”
“InStride has provided us with so many tools – things that we would have never thought of that have been incredibly effective with our child,” said Lori and Joe, parents of an InStride graduate. “Every single aspect of our lives has been impacted by InStride. We have the freedom to be a married couple again, and our kids are living how we’ve always wanted them to live.”
From Strain to Strength: The Vital Role of Caregivers in Youth Anxiety and OCD Treatment, along with other InStride resources are available on the website at https://instride.health/resources/caregiver-benefits-following-instride-healths-anxiety-and-ocd-treatment-for-youth
InStride Health
InStride Health provides specialty outpatient care for pediatric anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and related presentations. Co-founded by Harvard-trained clinicians, the InStride Health care model is grounded in evidence-based treatment, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with an emphasis on exposure therapy. Each young person is paired with a dedicated, multidisciplinary team of a psychiatrist, therapist, and an exposure coach that helps both the young person and their family. The young person is provided with real-time support as they face their fears and develop skills and strategies for lasting change. InStride Health accepts most major insurance plans and is accepting patients in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
Media Contact:
Matt Miller
V2 Communications
Instride@v2comms.com
A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/d1684dad-589b-494a-bf59-bf76cf692517
