Assessment of Psychological Interventions for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Comparative Study of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
1Raja Azam, 2Hassan Raza, 3Abdus Salam, 4Dr Muhammad Sami Bilal, 5Tashfeen Bano, 6Dr. Naeem Amjad
1 UHS Lahore
2Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad
3Assistant Professor, Psychology, Business Administration and Social Sciences Department, Iqra National University, Peshawar
4Assistant Professor, College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPSP) Pakistan
5PIMS Islamabad
6Associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Shahida Islam Medical college, Lodhran
Vol: 15/03
Received: January 21, 2025 Accepted: March 12, 2025 Published: July 07, 2025
ABSTRACT: The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT) have been identified as the forefront evidence-based interventions among the numerous therapeutic methods. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common psychological disorder that is associated with worrying excessively and worrying beyond the limits. Both have been proved to be effective; however, there is a minimal literature addressing the comparative effectiveness of these treatments in the management of GAD. Aim: This study was purposeful in comparing effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Therapy in the minimization of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in adult patients. Methods: This was a study that was carried out in the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad between June 2024 and May 2025. One hundred patients (and only these) with GAD with the age range between 18 and 55 years were recruited and randomly allocated to two unequal groups. The treatment that Group A was subjected to included CBT whereas the treatment that Group B was subjected to included MBT. Every group was involved in therapy sessions every week and the duration of the sessions was 12 weeks. Baseline, mid-therapy, and post-therapy phases were assessed by standardized assessment tools, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to measure levels of anxiety. Results: The mean results depicted that both CBT and MBT groups reported significant decrease in anxiety symptoms during a 12-week period of intervention program (p<0.01). Nevertheless, the means of GAD-7 values improved (16.8 has been decreased to 7.4) at a rather higher level in the CBT group (2.32.1) than in the MBT group (2.3-2.4). In the same manner, the scores of the BAI recorded deteriorated more within the CBT group (29.5 4.0 to 13.2 3.0) than in the MBT group (28.9 4.2 to 15.6 3.2). Conclusion: It was concluded that both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Therapy were effective in control of symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, however, CBT resulted in greater changes in reduction of anxiety. These results indicate that CBT can be viewed as somewhat more effective initial line therapy of GAD clinically. Keywords: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Therapy, Anxiety Reduction, Psychotherapy, Comparative Study