Challenging Uncertainty: Behavioural Experiments in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Detailed Summary

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry. Our research group has developed a cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) for GAD centered upon intolerance of uncertainty, a dispositional characteristic that arises from a set of negative beliefs about uncertainty and its consequences (Dugas \& Robichaud, 2007). This CBT protocol has demonstrated good efficacy over four previous clinical trials: approximately 70% of participants fully remit from GAD following treatment and maintain these gains over extended follow-up periods. These results, while positive, do suggest that a substantial minority of individuals do not fully benefit from the existing treatment protocol. Across our randomized clinical trials, individuals who do not achieve diagnostic remission of GAD continue to endorse elevated levels of intolerance of uncertainty. This suggests that the current CBT protocol does not effectively reduce intolerance of uncertainty in some treated individuals. To address this, we have developed a modified version of the original CBT protocol that targets intolerance of uncertainty more directly. The goal of the current proposal is to determine whether this newly developed CBT protocol with fewer components can deliver comparable or superior GAD symptom reduction. A total of 7 participants with a primary diagnosis of GAD received the newly developed CBT protocol over 12 weekly sessions. Measures of GAD symptoms, psychopathology, and intolerance of uncertainty were administered at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment, as well as at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. The proposed study will provide information about the efficacy of this new CBT protocol in reducing GAD symptoms.

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