Psychological therapy based on CBT principles is effective in reducing anxiety symptoms for short-term treatment of GAD .
The body of evidence comparing CBT with other psychological therapies is small and heterogeneous , which precludes drawing conclusions about which psychological therapy is more effective .
BACKGROUND Generalised anxiety disorder ( GAD ) is a highly prevalent condition , characterised by excessive worry or anxiety about everyday events and problems .
The effectiveness and effectiveness of psychological therapies as a group has not yet been evaluated in the treatment of GAD .
OBJECTIVES To examine the efficacy and acceptability of psychological therapies , categorised as cognitive behavioural therapy ( CBT ) , psychodynamic therapy and supportive therapy , compared with treatment as usual/waiting list ( TAU/WL ) and compared with one another , for patients with GAD .
Cognitive restructuring treatment: a controlled trail with anxious patients.
Abstract Cognitive restructuring , modified systematic desensitization and a combined treatment ( cognitive behaviour modification ) were compared with a no-treatment control group , using a simple r and omized design . Twenty seven general anxiety out- patients selected from the hospital waiting list were used as subjects . Assessment s were made at the beginning and end of treatment , and at follow-up 1 month later . The assessment s included two subjective anxiety measures , the Zung self-rating anxiety scale and fear thermometer scores , a behavioural anxiety measure , a measure of cognitive anxiety as estimated by a diary recording of thinking time , fear survey schedule scores and I/E scores .  Cognitive behaviour modification was found to be a superior form of treatment , relative to the no-treatment control and the other active treatment groups as assessed by FSS intensity score . The cognitive behaviour modification group showed greater improvement than the cognitive restructuring group on the diary anxiety scores . The results also demonstrated a relationship between outcome and initial severity of condition . The higher the subjects ' initial scores on neurotic symptoms and subjective anxiety level , the greater the degree of positive change after treatment . Moreover , subjects with high levels of internal control prior to treatment responded most to therapy
Psychological therapy based on CBT principles is effective in reducing anxiety symptoms for short-term treatment of GAD .
The body of evidence comparing CBT with other psychological therapies is small and heterogeneous , which precludes drawing conclusions about which psychological therapy is more effective .
BACKGROUND Generalised anxiety disorder ( GAD ) is a highly prevalent condition , characterised by excessive worry or anxiety about everyday events and problems .
The effectiveness and effectiveness of psychological therapies as a group has not yet been evaluated in the treatment of GAD .
OBJECTIVES To examine the efficacy and acceptability of psychological therapies , categorised as cognitive behavioural therapy ( CBT ) , psychodynamic therapy and supportive therapy , compared with treatment as usual/waiting list ( TAU/WL ) and compared with one another , for patients with GAD .