Treatment of Nonphobic Anxiety Disorders: A Comparison of Nondirective, Cognitive, and Coping Desensitization Therapy

The present study compared the efficacy of nondirective therapy, coping desensitization, and cognitive therapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. All clients received 12 sessions of progressive relaxation training in addition to one of these three treatments. Pretherapy and posttherapy assessments, as well as 6-month and 12-month follow-up measurements, indicated that the group as a whole showed significant and continued improvement on a variety of self-report questionnaire, daily diary, and psychiatric assessor instruments. No differences were found between the three conditions. As was found in a previous investigation, the degree to which clients experienced relaxation-induced anxiety during relaxation training sessions predicted poorer outcome. The outcome results are compared with those of previous investigations of these anxiety disorders, and directions for further research are discussed.