CBT Refined for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Treatment (1 CE)

Number of Credits:  1

This course is for: Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, and LMFTs

Course By: Joel Austin, PharmD

Content By: Hirsch C.R., Beale S., Grey N., Liness S. (2019). Approaching Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder from A Cognitive Process Perspective. Frontiers in Psychiatry, (10). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00796

Course Description: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most commonly reported psychological disorders worldwide. While cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is currently the gold standard of treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder, additional research is needed into its efficacy in clinical settings to improve treatment outcomes.  The attached journal summarized recent refinements to CBT techniques to target key cognitive processes in control of worry in generalized anxiety disorder.  Three research-supported processes are outlined and used to create a clarified CBT protocol that was then instituted into practice with an experiment group of patients.  Increased recovery was observed in the experiment group and the findings exceeded most studies in effectiveness for several anxiety disorder evaluations.  More research is needed at this time, but the results shown in the present study are very promising, according to the researchers.       

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the central aim of the study and the methods related to instituting cognitive behavior therapy techniques into practice with generalized anxiety disorder patients
2. Review the key cognitive processes disrupted in generalized anxiety disorder and the different ways they are addressed through treatment
3. Outline the techniques of CBT that have recently been selected, adapted, or developed to increase efficacy in clinical settings

Course Outline:  

• Read and understand Approaching Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder from A Cognitive Process Perspective
• Review the Course Descriptions and Learning Objectives
• Consider the factors related to performing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in patients struggling with moderate to severe general anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Re-assess for any missed questions, returning to the referenced article to better understand the relationship between general anxiety disorder and CBT