Three-year trajectory of individuals with anxiety and related disorders following cognitive behavioural therapy

Research Aims/Questions: Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and costly to society. A large number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have now demonstrated the short term and long term efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the treatment of anxiety and related disorders. In addition, a smaller number of effectiveness studies have also demonstrated that similar outcomes to RCTs can be obtained in "real-world" treatment settings with more clinically representative samples. There is minimal research, however, into long-term outcomes in effectiveness research. The present study aims to address this gap in the literature and investigate the long term trajectory of individuals with anxiety and related disorders being treated in an outpatient clinic.

Methodology: The sample consisted of 98 individuals with anxiety and related disorders that were treated in an outpatient, fee-for-service setting using a case formulation approach. Participants were followed up and assessed each year after their treatment discharge, for a period of 3 years. Outcome measures included the NIMH Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale as a global measure of symptom severity and the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) as a measure of functional impairment.

Conclusion: The results indicated that clients generally maintain their treatment gains, with large effect sizes obtained from pre-treatment to each follow-up time point (d = 1.11-1.60). These results provide preliminary evidence to suggest that individuals treated with CBT in “real world” settings maintain their treatment gains for at least 3 years post treatment termination.