# Group interpersonal psychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder: development process and a pilot test

## TL;DR

A new group therapy for generalized anxiety disorder was developed and showed promise in reducing symptoms and improving access to care.

## Contribution

The first development and pilot test of Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

## Key findings

- Group IPT significantly reduced GAD symptoms in two patient cohorts.
- Online group therapy was found to be feasible and could help overcome access barriers.
- The treatment manual was successfully developed using iterative qualitative methods.

## Abstract

•A novel Group IPT was developed for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).•Reduction in GAD symptoms highlights the potential efficacy of Group IPT for GAD.•N Group IPT effectively addresses mental health care access barriers.

A novel Group IPT was developed for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Reduction in GAD symptoms highlights the potential efficacy of Group IPT for GAD.

N Group IPT effectively addresses mental health care access barriers.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common and disabling psychiatric disorder that negatively impairs patients' quality of life. Studies suggest that inadequate consideration of interpersonal problems may contribute to the poor treatment response in psychotherapy for GAD. Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is an evidence-based psychosocial intervention that focuses on symptoms by improving interpersonal functioning, and research demonstrates that IPT is efficacious in treating social anxiety and panic disorders. To date, however, there are no studies examining IPT for patients with GAD.

The authors developed and pilot-tested an IPT manual for the treatment of GAD in groups with two cohorts of patients. Pre- and post-test measures of anxiety were collected and analyzed.

The authors successfully developed a treatment manual for Group IPT for Anxiety using iterative qualitative methods. Significant improvement from baseline was noted in the GAD scores for patients in both patient cohorts.

The results suggest that IPT can be successfully used for GAD in group formats and that future large-scale randomized trials should be warranted. The results also suggest that online group therapy is feasible and warrants further study and that it may be used to deal with access and logistical barriers faced by many patients.