Clinical Trial of Transdiagnostic Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Transdiagnostic Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders in community settings, and they are associated with significant psychological distress, functional and social impairment. Although pharmacological and psychological treatments for anxiety and depression have existed for several years now, only a minority of anxiety disorder sufferers are treated according to guidelines. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the most consistently efficacious psychological treatment for anxiety disorders, but implementation of CBT in primary care is challenging due to limited resources. Recent studies indicate that transdiagnostic group CBT for multiple anxiety disorders could be a promising alternative to individual CBT in primary care. The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness of group CBT for anxiety disorders as a complement to usual care. The clinical trial will be conducted in three Health and Social Services Centers in the province of Québec (i.e. Sherbrooke, Laval and Québec). Patients will be French-speaking adults with anxiety disorders, and they will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: a) Transdiagnostic group CBT (12 weekly 2-hour sessions), b) usual care. The transdiagnostic group CBT will be offered as a differed intervention to participants in the usual care group after the 8-month follow up. Participants in both study arms will undergo a baseline clinical evaluation as well as outcome assessment interviews at post-treatment, 4, 8, and 12 month follow-up time-points. The primary study results will include improvement on a questionnaire on anxiety symptoms. Widespread implementation of group CBT could lead to better outcomes for a large number of patients living with anxiety.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 18-65 (upper age limit added 2016-11-18)
• Fluent in spoken and written French.
• Meeting DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for at least one of the following anxiety disorders as a primary mental disorder: Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder and/or Social Anxiety Disorder according to a clinical rating ≥ 4 for the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-5 (ADIS-5) administered by a trained PhD-level clinician.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Active suicidal intentions, psychosis, bipolar disorder, active substance-related disorder and addictive disorder in the past 12 months (sections or screening questions in ADIS-5).
• Marked cognitive impairment [Épreuve des 5 mots (Dubois, 2002) administered in case of doubt by assessor].
• Consultation with a psychiatrist in the past 12 months.