Behavioural Psychotherapy
- Behavioural Psychotherapy / Volume 17 / Issue 04 / October 1989, pp 316-322
- Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1989
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0141347300017055 (About DOI), Published online: 16 June 2009
Clinical Section
Multimodal Therapy for Generalized and Social Anxieties: A Pilot Study
Peter R. Grossa1*
a1 James Cook University of North Queensland, Cairns Campus
Generalized and social anxieties are common psychological problems which frequently coexist. The present study examined the efficacy of a multimodal therapy strategy for these problems. As there is no close correspondence between the three response systems in which anxiety is manifested, therapeutic strategies were selected for inclusion in the programme with the aim of targeting irrational cognitions, non-assertive behaviours, and physiological arousal. A battery of self-report instruments as well as a blood-pressure meter were used to monitor changes in these response systems. Questionnaires were rated by the 24 participants on two pre-and two post-treatment occasions. While significant reductions were found for nine questionnaires, no change was observed for blood-pressure levels. It was submitted that benefits of multimodal therapy can be best appreciated by giving attention to the number of areas of change produced in therapy as well as absolute levels of change.
Footnotes
Reprint requests to P. R. Gross, James Cook University of North Queensland, Cairns Campus, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns Mail Centre, Cairns, Australia 4870.
* An extended version of this manuscript is available from the author upon request. The extended article contains a more detailed summary of the treatment programme. As only nine subjects completed anxiety diaries it was decided to include these results in the extended article. A potentially important finding, in terms of classification of anxiety disorders, which emerged from these diaries was that anxiety levels of persons with GAD decreased throughout the day whereas anxiety levels in Panic Disorder subjects increased throughout the day. It was suggested that panic subjects became apprehensive about the occurrence of panic attacks at night.
