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Study of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Emotion Regulation and Mindfulness in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

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Abstract

Although the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has not been addressed to date, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the gold-standard psychotherapy for GAD patients. The present study investigated effects of DBT versus CBT on emotion regulation and mindfulness in GAD patients. Conducted in Iran, 68 GAD patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: CBT or DBT. Assessment was performed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at 3 months follow-up. Evaluation included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Results of the present study showed that both groups had lower scores in depression, anxiety, and emotion dysregulation and higher scores in mindfulness after the interventions, and at follow-up. During the study period, the CBT group experienced greater reductions than the DBT group in symptoms of depression and anxiety, while the DBT group experienced greater improvements than the CBT group in emotion regulation and mindfulness. Findings seem to warrant the conclusion that, although CBT reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety more than DBT, DBT was more effective in improving emotion regulation and mindfulness than CBT. Findings of the study are of significance for psychotherapy and future studies of these treatments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, Kashan University of Medical Science, 8714858955, Kashan, Iran

    Behrooz Afshari & Jila Hasani

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  1. Behrooz Afshari
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Correspondence to Behrooz Afshari.

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The authors declare that we have no conflict of interest to the publication of the present study.

Ethical Approval

This work was supported by Research Deputy of Kashan University of Medical Science. The Local Ethics Committee approval was obtained (IRCT2017031233023N1). We thank the Clinical Psychology Department of Kashan University of Medical Sciences and the Psychiatric Department of Kargarnejad Psychiatric Hospital. We also appreciate Sheri Van Dijk (mental health therapist and renowned dialectical behavior therapy expert) for her thoughtful insights on an earlier draft of this paper.

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Afshari, B., Hasani, J. Study of Dialectical Behavior Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Emotion Regulation and Mindfulness in Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. J Contemp Psychother 50, 305–312 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-020-09461-9

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