[The application of the system of «reminder stickers» for the rehabilitation programs with the use of behavioural therapy for the patients presenting with anxiety disorders].

This article was designed to report the results of research on the effectiveness of the new original «reminder stickers» technique proposed by the authors for the management of the patients undergoing rehabilitation based on behavioral therapy. The essence of this technique consists of providing the patients with systematic reminders of the need to implement skills aimed at coping with maladaptive sensations that accompany anxiety disorders. Aim. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using the «reminder stickers» technique for the formation of stable responses to the correction of the target clinical symptoms. Patients and methods. The study involved 118 patients suffering from anxiety disorders allocated to two groups for comparison. Group 1 was comprised of the patients (n=76) given the reminders while group 2 contained those (n=42) not included in the system of «reminder stickers». The difference between the parameters of interest in the two groups was estimated with the use of Mann-Whitney and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Results. The analysis of diary records of the patients was used to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of maladaptive sensations that required the application of the appropriate behavioural skills and the frequency of the missed or delayed responses as well as the level of subjective satisfaction of the patients with the stability of the acquired skills. It was shown that the patients given «reminder stickers» significantly more frequently reported situations that required the application of the appropriate skills within the first week after the initiation of monitoring than the patients of group 2 (р<0,0001). The frequency of the missed or delayed responses in these patients was significantly lower than in group 2 (р<0,0001) whereas the degree of subjective satisfaction with the stability of the acquired skills was much higher (р<0,0001). These differences persisted during week 2 after the onset of monitoring when the frequency of maladaptive sensations that required the application of the previously formed behavioural skills of therapeutic significance in the patients given «reminder stickers» remained lower than in the patients to whom no such «remainders» were provided (р=0,001). The frequency of the missed or delayed responses in these patients decreased significantly in comparison with that in group 2 (р<0,0001),) while the degree of subjective satisfaction of the patients with the stability of the acquired skills further increased (р<0,0001). Conclusion. The results of the study indicate that inclusion of «reminder stickers» in the structure of cognitive-behavioral therapy at the stages of formation of the skills needed to cope with maladaptive sensations enhances the ability of the patients presenting with anxiety disorders to much more often timely identify situations that require the use of the appropriate behavioural skills and to apply them. It is concluded that the application of the original «reminder stickers» technique ensures an adequate response of the patients to maladaptive sensations that accompany anxiety disorders.