The treatment of generalised anxiety disorder

Abstract

Psychological and pharmacological treatments for generalized anxiety disorder are reviewed, together with recent concepts of worry and their implications for treatment. It is argued that a cognitive behavioural approach currently has greatest support in terms of efficacy; with specific treatment effects associated with cognitive therapy and applied relaxation. While pharmacological treatments provide short- term anxiolytic relief, their longer-term effects are less well known, and their role as adjunctive treatments to the psychological therapies unclear. Treatment studies indicate that a significant proportion of individuals do not achieve clinically significant change, hence room remains for further improvement in treatment approaches. Further research into the mechanism of worry may help treatment to better target the worry that is central to this disorder.