Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Late Life Anxiety

Implementation of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Older Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The purpose of this research study is to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the implementation strategy and fidelity of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for older adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

All participants will receive CBT. Each subject will be given a workbook and each chapter in the workbook provides information about a different coping strategy for managing worry and anxiety. There will be a daily assignment in the workbook to complete before a call with the personal study coach. For 10 weeks, participants will have a 45-50 minute session (telephone or video) each week with their study coach. These calls will be confidential. The participant and the personal study coach will review the assigned chapter and completed homework during the weekly telephone sessions. Participants will also fill out questionnaires before starting sessions, when completing all 10 sessions, and 6 months after completing sessions.

Inclusion Criteria:

• participants who have had an outpatient visit to an Atrium provider
• at least one of the following: any diagnosis of an anxiety or depressive disorder; anxiety, depression, or sleep disturbance as a symptom in the problem list or in the note; and use of anxiolytic, anti-depressant, and sleep aide medications.

Exclusion Criteria:

• diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment in the problem list