Cohorts of up to 6
Kids & teens, 7–18
Screened in allergy clinic with one question: 'Do you feel nervous or scared about eating because of your food allergy?' Positive screens are assessed for situational phobia of anaphylaxis before enrolling.
— A pediatric CBT project
Building Bravery.
A four-session, CBT-based group program for kids with food allergies and their caregivers — helping families tell anxious worry apart from the real risk of anaphylaxis, and build the skills to reduce avoidance while staying safe.
Building Bravery — cover
— What it is
A clinic-embedded CBT curriculum, synthesized into one arc.
Building Bravery is a virtual, physician–psychologist co-led group program. Cohorts of up to six patients, ages 7–18, meet across four sessions that pair a 10-minute individual allergist check-in with a 60-minute CBT group led by a psychologist and allergy fellow or attending.
Eligibility begins in clinic with a single screening question and a brief assessment for situational phobia of anaphylaxis. Families who enroll receive plain-language handouts on anxiety and CBT, logistics and CPT-code guidance, and — at program's end — a curated resource list spanning food-allergy support, mental health referrals, and reading for every age group.
The program synthesizes established CBT components — the Cognitive Triangle, the Worry Monster, Fear Ladders, graded exposure, coping self-talk, Progressive Muscle Relaxation — into a single, bravery-building curriculum that clinicians can run inside an existing allergy practice.
— Who it's for
Built for the whole room.
Alongside every session
Caregivers
Parents learn to name the six caregiver anxiety traps — rescuing, avoiding, over-reassuring, over-protecting, shaming, yelling — and practice pairing acceptance with confidence.
Co-led delivery
Allergy + psychology teams
A 10-minute allergist check-in paired with a 60-minute CBT group led by a psychologist and allergy fellow or attending. Billing codes, Epic template, and scheduling scaffolding included.
— Program resources
Everything a family needs to bring to the room.
For Providers
Allergists & clinical teams
For Providers
A shared visual language for introducing food-allergy treatment paths without overwhelming families.
For Patients
Children ages 8–14
For Patients
A narrative built with kids, not for them — reflection prompts kids can hold in their own words.
For Parents & Caregivers
Families
For Parents & Caregivers
Conversation scaffolds that make room for fear, ambivalence, and hope at the same table.
Access the Narrative Tool
All audiences
Access the Narrative Tool
The interactive graphic-medicine walkthrough — a full CBT-informed session, in your own words.
— How it works
Four sessions, one arc.
- 01
Foundations.
Introduce the Cognitive Triangle and the Worry Monster. Sit anxiety symptoms next to true anaphylaxis symptoms so families can tell them apart. Homework: a Fear Ladder ranking feared situations 0–10.
- 02
Taming the Worry Monster.
Review the fear ladder and build a graded exposure hierarchy — home and in-clinic. Caregivers work the Anxiety Traps table and a reframing exercise: acceptance paired with confidence.
- 03
Thinking and acting bravely.
Review the first exposure — expectation vs. reality, fear-thermometer drop. Introduce coping self-talk ('I got this,' talking back to the Worry Monster) and Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Assign a second exposure.
- 04
Living bravely with food allergies.
Shift to SMART goals that reduce avoidance while staying medically safe — for example, reading a food label only once per day for two weeks. Close with a curated resource list for kids, teens, and caregivers.
— For clinical teams
Bring Building Bravery to your practice.
We're piloting the tool with allergists whose practices treat kids with food allergies. If that's yours, we'd love to walk you through it.