The Effectiveness of Group Metacognitive Therapy for Generalised Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) responds well to individually delivered metacognitive therapy (MCT). The current study investigated the effectiveness of MCT administered to groups of patients with GAD in a general outpatient treatment centre. Thirty-three consecutively referred adult patients with GAD were assessed before treatment (pretreatment), after the last treatment session (posttreatment), and six months after treatment had ended (follow-up). Analyses of treatment effects were conducted for all patients entering the study (i.e., intent-to-treat analysis, using the last-observation-carried-forward procedure), and repeated for the patients who completed treatment (completers analysis), using paired samples t-tests. Further, effect sizes (ESs) and indices of clinical significance were calculated, and compared with those reported in studies into the efficacy and effectiveness of individually delivered MCT for GAD. Among both the intent-to-treat and the completers sample, large pre- to posttreatment reductions in symptoms of worry, trait-anxiety, and general psychopathology. The magnitude of change and the degree of clinical significance were smaller than those reported in studies into the effectiveness of individually delivered MCT for GAD, whereas the attrition rate (27 %) was higher. It is tentatively concluded that MCT for GAD can be effectively delivered in a group format in a heterogenous clinical practice setting. Further evaluation is clearly indicated.