A Randomized Clinical Trial in a Public Health Context: Inclusion of Emotional Techniques in Group Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

A randomized clinical trial was carried out with two treatment groups: one receiving cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the other with the inclusion of emotional techniques (CEBT), both lasting 20 sessions. The sample consisted of 237 patients, all of them with principal diagnoses of anxiety disorders, and all referred by their general practitioners. There were significant improvements in symptomatology (anxiety trait, depression, clinical symptomatology), but the only significant difference found in the intergroup comparison was for the variable subjective life satisfaction (p = .017), which was greater in the CEBT group. This group also displayed better adherence to the treatment program (p = .019). This reinforces the case for including group therapy treatment with emotional components in primary care settings, highlighting the importance of emphasizing self-esteem.

Automated summary

A randomized clinical trial compared two treatment groups: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and cognitive-emotional behavior therapy (CEBT). Both groups underwent 20 sessions and consisted of 237 patients with anxiety disorders referred by their general practitioners. The findings showed significant improvements in symptomatology for both groups, but the CEBT group had higher subjective life satisfaction (p = .017) and better treatment adherence (p = .019). These results support the inclusion of emotional techniques and emphasize the importance of self-esteem in group therapy in primary care settings.