Randomized Controlled Trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy versus Traditional Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: Symptomatic and Behavioral Outcomes

Publication date: Available online 19 July 2018Source: Journal of Contextual Behavioral ScienceAuthor(s): James D. Herbert, Evan M. Forman, Joanna L. Kaye, Marina Gershkovich, Elizabeth Goetter, Erica K. Yuen, Lisa Glassman, Stephanie Goldstein, Peter Hitchcock, Jena Shaw Tronieri, Staci Berkowitz, Stephanie Marando-BlanckAbstractOnly two trials have compared acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive behavior therapy (tCBT) in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD), with both finding no significant differences. These trials did not examine effects on observer-rated behavioral outcomes and did not explicitly quantify the dose of exposure therapy within each treatment. In a replication trial, one hundred and two individuals with SAD (per DSM-IV criteria) were randomized to 12 sessions of ACT (n = 49) or tCBT (n = 53) controlling for exposure dose and assessing behavioral outcomes. Assessments were completed at pre- and post-treatment using clinician-rated and self-report measures of social anxiety, quality of life, and overall functioning. Observer-rated behavioral measures of social performance were completed for a subsample of participants. Results indicated that participants across conditions received equivalent doses of exposure. Those who received tCBT evidenced greater improvements in self-reported social anxiety symptoms and overall functioning, which contrasts with prior studies finding no differences between tCBT and ACT in the treatment...
Source: Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research