A Randomized Clinical Trial of Transdiagnostic Cognitve-Behavioral Treatments for Anxiety Disorder by Comparison to Relaxation Training☆
Highlights
► Randomized clinical trial comparing the efficacy of transdiagnostic CBGT to relaxation training ► Data from 87 clients suggested significant and statistically equivalent/noninferior outcomes across conditions ► Relaxation was associated with a greater rate of dropout despite no differences in treatment credibility ► No evidence for any differential effects of transdiagnostic CBT for any primary or comorbid diagnoses
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were drawn from 154 individuals contacting the University of Houston Anxiety Disorder Clinic between October 2006 and April 2009 for possible treatment services. Participants were recruited for participation via advertisements and articles in local and neighborhood newspapers, referrals from health and mental health professions, and public service media announcements. The following criteria were established for inclusion in the study: (a) age 18 or older; (b) principal DSM-IV
Preliminary Analyses
Of the randomization sample, 37 received a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, 31 panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, 15 GAD, 2 anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (NOS), and one each of OCD and specific phobia. Over half (60.7%) of the sample were given one or more additional diagnoses, based on lower CSR scores, including major depressive disorder, dysthymia, or other depressive mood disorder (n = 28), GAD (n = 18), social anxiety disorder (n = 11), specific phobia (n = 8),
Discussion
Transdiagnostic models and treatments appear to be gaining interest for anxiety disorders (Erickson et al., 2007, Norton, 2008, Schmidt et al., 2012), eating disorders (Fairburn, Cooper, & Shafran, 2003), and, more generally, negative affective syndromes (Barlow et al., 2004, McEvoy and Nathan, 2007). Data published thus far suggests considerable improvement among those receiving transdiagnostic CBT for anxiety, and comparisons of effect sizes to those obtained from other treatment trials
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This research was supported by an NIMH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (1K01MH073920).