Effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral group intervention for comorbid anxiety and mood disorders in partially responder outpatients

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term Cognitive-Behavioral Group Intervention for comorbid Anxiety e Mood Disorders in partially pharmacotherapy responder outpatients and to test the feasibility of this intervention as complementary treatment in psychiatric settings. DESIGN: Thirty-three participants have been assessed for the overall psychopathological symptoms, depression and anxiety before and after an 8 weeks group intervention, while following their pharmacological treatment as usual. The contents of the cognitive-behavioral group intervention have been psychoeducation, relaxation techniques, life-style management, emotional regulation techniques, meditative techniques, cognitive restructuring, addressed to support the patients in reducing their symptoms and learning self-regulatory and self-management skills. Statistically and clinically significant change analyses have been conducted, included the evaluation of the unwanted effects. RESULTS: The outcomes have shown a significant reduction in the overall symptoms and the patients reported significant decrease of both Depression and Anxiety. Clinical significance outcomes are similar or higher than those available in scientific literature. The analysis showed that the unwanted effects had been amenable to extra-therapy factors. CONCLUSION: These outcomes support the effectiveness of this multi-component group intervention. Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression can be modulated and reduced by learning self-management and self-regulation skills. This short-term training offers a cost-effective tool in treating the most common and co-occurrent psychiatric disorders claimed in public health settings.