A comparison of emotion-focused therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy in the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

• Published in: Current controlled trials in cardiovascular medicine Vol. 19; no. 1; p. 506
• Main Authors: Timulak, Ladislav, Keogh, Daragh, Chigwedere, Craig, Wilson, Charlotte, Ward, Fiona, Hevey, David, Griffin, Patrick, Jacobs, Louise, Irwin, Brenda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19.09.2018; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Behavior modification; Care and treatment; Cognition; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - methods; Cognitive behavioural therapy; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Comparative analysis; Counseling; Emotion-focused therapy; Emotion-Focused Therapy - methods; Emotions; Family counseling; Feasibility Studies; Generalised anxiety disorder; Generalized anxiety disorder; Health care policy; Humans; Intervention; Ireland; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Methods; Patient Health Questionnaire; Personality disorders; Primary care; Primary Health Care; Psychotropic drugs; Public health; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Study Protocol; Therapists; Therapy; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Ireland; Generalised anxiety disorder; Emotion-focused therapy; Cognitive behavioural therapy; Primary care
• ISSN: 1745-6215; 1745-6215
• DOI: 10.1186/s13063-018-2892-0

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic and debilitating condition characterised by high co-morbidity. Alongside pharmacological treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an established psychological therapy for GAD. Its effectiveness is limited, however, with only an estimated 50% of clients presenting in the non-clinical range after a course of treatment. Furthermore, not all clients prefer CBT as a psychological therapy. Recently, emotion-focused therapy (EFT) was developed for GAD and was tested in an open trial with promising results. The present research project is a feasibility testing randomised controlled trial (RCT) that compares the efficacy of EFT with an established treatment for GAD, CBT. Sixty clients presenting in a primary care psychology/counselling service will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: EFT or CBT. Outcomes will be assessed using several measures (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, Generalised Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure). Clients will be assessed prior to and at the end of therapy, as well as at 6-month follow-up. On the basis of findings from the initial open EFT trial with regard to the optimal length of therapy, it is proposed that therapy last between 16 and 20 sessions. This study aims to test the feasibility of a full comparison RCT. It will test subject recruitment, therapist adherence to manualised treatment, and client retention rates. It will also provide estimates of comparative outcomes that can inform power calculations for a definitive trial. ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN52689081 . Registered on 24 October 2017.