It has been estimated that between 6% and 20% of American children suffer from anxiety (generalised anxiety disorder, separation anxiety and social phobia), but most of these children go undiagnosed and untreated. Both cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and treatment with selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective. Now a study at six US centres (John T Walkup and colleagues. New England Journal of Medicine 2008;359:2753–66; see also Editorial, ibid: 2835–6) has confirmed the effectiveness of either treatment alone and shown that the combination of the …