Self-help and minimal-contact therapies for anxiety disorders: Is human contact necessary for therapeutic efficacy?

Full Abstract

Self-help materials, brief therapies, and treatments involving minimal therapist contact have all been proposed as effective and low-cost interventions for anxiety disorders. However, research also suggests that the therapeutic alliance is a central predictor of therapy outcome. Interestingly, amounts of therapist contact within and across "self-help" interventions vary greatly. It is therefore unclear how much therapist contact is necessary for a positive anxiety disorder treatment outcome. The present article reviews the literature on anxiety disorder treatments using self-help, self-administered, and decreased therapist-contact interventions. Treatment studies are grouped together by anxiety diagnosis as well as amount of therapist contact. It is concluded that self-administered treatments are most effective for motivated clients seeking treatment for simple phobias. Predominantly self-help therapies are efficacious for panic disorder and mixed anxiety samples. On the other hand, minimal-contact therapies have demonstrated efficacy for the greatest variety of anxiety diagnoses.Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 251-274, 2003.

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Author information

Author/s: Newman, Michelle G (MG); Erickson, Thane (T); Przeworski, Amy (A); Dzus, Ellen (E);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802-3103, USA. mgn1@psu.edu

Grants: MH-58593 (Agency:United States NIMH)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review

Journal: Journal of clinical psychology (J Clin Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Mar; vol 59 (issue 3) : pp 251-74

Dates: Created 2003/02/11; Completed 2003/06/18; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12579544, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Anxiety Disorders - psychology; therapy
Humans
Motivation
Patient Education as Topic

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