Whether it is a phobia like a fear
of flying, public speaking or spiders, or a diagnosis such as obsessive
compulsive disorder, new research finds patients suffering from anxiety
disorders showed the most improvement when treated with cognitive-behavioral
therapy (CBT) in conjunction with a “transdiagnostic” approach – a model that
allows therapists to apply one set of principles across anxiety disorders.
The combination was more effective than CBT combined with other types of anxiety disorder treatments, like relaxation training according to Peter Norton, associate professor in clinical psychology and director of the Anxiety Disorder Clinic at the University of Houston (UH).
Norton concludes that therapists treating people with anxiety disorders may effectively use a treatment that applies one set of principals across all types of anxiety disorders. The findings are the result of a decade of research, four separate clinical trials and the completion of a five-year grant funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Norton defines anxiety disorders as when anxiety and fear are so overwhelming that it can start to negatively impact a person’s day-to-day life. He notes anxiety disorders include: panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder, specific phobias and generalized anxiety disorder. Often anxiety disorders occur with a secondary illness, such as depression, substance or alcohol abuse. Norton says there are targeted treatments for each diagnosis, but there has been little recognition that the treatments don’t differ much, and they only differ in very specific ways.
“The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been an important breakthrough in understanding mental health, but people are dissatisfied with its fine level of differentiation,” said Norton. “Panic disorders are considered something different from social phobia, which is considered something different from PTSD. The hope was that by getting refined in the diagnosis we could target interventions for each of these diagnoses, but in reality that just hasn’t played out.”
As a graduate student in Nebraska, Norton couldn’t get enough people together on the same night to run a group treatment for social phobia, and that marked the beginning of 10 years of work on the transdiagnostic treatment approach.
“What I realized is that I could open a group to people
with anxiety disorders in general and develop a treatment program regardless of
the artificial distinctions between social phobia and panic disorder, or
obsessive-compulsive disorder, and focus on the core underlying things that are
going wrong,” said Norton.
Norton finds cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of treatment with a specific time frame and goals, helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behaviors to be the most effective treatment. The twist for him was using CBT in conjunction with the transdiagnostic approach. The patients receiving the transdiagnostic treatment showed considerable improvement, especially with treating comorbid diagnoses, a disease or condition that co-exists with a primary disease and can stand on its own as a specific disease, like depression.
“What I have learned from my past research is that if you
treat your principal diagnosis, such as social phobia and you hate public
speaking, you are going to show improvement on some of your secondary
diagnosis. Your mood is going to get a little better, your fear of heights
might dissipate. So there is some effect there, but what we find is when we
approach things with a transdiagnostic approach, we see a much bigger impact on
comorbid diagnoses,” said Norton. “In my research study, over two-thirds of
comorbid diagnoses went away, versus what we typically find when I’m
treating a specific diagnosis such as a panic disorder, where only about 40
percent of people will show that sort of remission in their secondary
diagnosis. The transdiagnostic treatment approach is more efficient in treating
the whole person rather than just treating the diagnosis, then treating the
next diagnoses.”
Norton notes the larger contributions of the studies are to guide further development and interventions for how clinical psychologists, therapists and social workers treat people with anxiety disorders. The data collected will be useful for people out on the front lines to effectively and efficiently treat people to reduce anxiety disorders.
Norton is the author of the book, “Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy of Anxiety. A Transdiagnostic Treatment Manual,” and co-author of “The Anti-Anxiety Workbook: Proven Strategies to Overcome Worry, Phobias, Panic and Obsessions.” He has authored more than 90 research papers on such topics as anxiety disorders, CBT and chronic pain, and he serves on the editorial boards of two scientific journals. He has received early career awards and research grants for his work on studying and treating anxiety from the National Institute of Mental Health, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, UH, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and the American Psychological Association.
# # #
About the Anxiety Disorder Clinic
The Anxiety Disorder Clinic (ADC) is a specialty treatment and research clinic at the University of Houston. The goal of the ADC is to help clients overcome their problems with anxiety without medication by using the most effective psychological therapies available. Both research opportunities and low-cost clinical services based on the latest scientific evidence are offered to individuals. For more information about research opportunities and clinical services at ADC, please call 713-743-8600 or visit the ADC website www.uh.edu/anxietyAbout the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation’s fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 39,500 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.