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Remote cognitive‐behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Trenoska Basile Vesna,
NewtonJohn Toby,
Wootton Bethany M.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.23360
Subject(s) - psychology , generalized anxiety disorder , meta analysis , clinical psychology , anxiety , psychotherapist , cognitive behavioral therapy , cognitive therapy , cognition , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , medicine
Background Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic mental health condition that results in significant individual, societal, and economic burden. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is well established as an efficacious treatment for GAD, individuals have identified several logistical barriers to accessing face‐to‐face CBT. Remotely delivered treatments address many of these treatment barriers. Methods The aim of the current study was to synthesize the current literature on the efficacy of remote CBT for GAD using a meta‐analytic approach. Relevant articles were identified through an electronic database search and 10 studies (with 11 remote conditions and 1071 participants) were included in the meta‐analysis. Results Within‐group findings indicate that remote CBT for GAD results in large effect sizes from pretreatment to posttreatment ( g = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03−1.58). Both low intensity and high intensity remote CBT interventions were found to result in large effect sizes ( g = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.11−1.61 and g = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.20−1.47, respectively), with no significant differences between the treatment formats ( Q 1 = 2.28, p = 0.13). Between‐group effect sizes were medium in size at posttreatment ( g = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.47−1.06). Conclusions These findings have potential implications for the delivery of evidence‐based treatment for GAD and the inclusion of remote methods in stepped care treatment approaches.