Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Treatment outcome and long-term follow-up.

TLDR

A new CBT approach for GAD focuses on intolerance of uncertainty through reappraising positive beliefs about worry, problem‑solving training, and cognitive exposure. This study evaluates the efficacy of the CBT protocol in group settings to improve cost‑benefit. Fifty‑two GAD patients underwent 14 group CBT sessions (4–6 per group) with a wait‑list control, and clinician ratings and self‑report measures assessed symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, depression, and social adjustment. The group CBT produced significantly greater post‑treatment improvements across all outcomes compared to wait‑list, with continued gains observed over a two‑year follow‑up.

Abstract

A recently developed cognitive-behavioral treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) targets intolerance of uncertainty by the reevaluation of positive beliefs about worry, problem-solving training, and cognitive exposure. As previous studies have established the treatment's efficacy when delivered individually, the present study tests the treatment in a group format as a way to enhance its cost-benefit ratio. A total of 52 GAD patients received 14 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy in small groups of 4 to 6 participants. A wait-list control design was used, and standardized clinician ratings and self-report questionnaires assessed GAD symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, depression, and social adjustment. Results show that the treatment group, relative to the wait-list group, had greater posttest improvement on all dependent variables and that treated participants made further gains over the 2-year follow-up phase of the study.