Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

Several studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is efficacious for the treatment of anxiety disorders (Ellard and Chronopoulos, Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. In: The Massachusetts General Hospital handbook of cognitive behavioral therapy. Humana Press, New York, p 43–61, 2016; Hofmann et al., Cogn Ther Res, 36:427–440, 2012; Kessler et al., Arch Gen Psychiatry, 62:593–602, 2005). The core components of CBT for anxiety disorders include aspects derived from behavioral and cognitive therapies such as exposure exercises and cognitive restructuring, respectively (Sprich et al. In: Stern TA, Fava M, Rosenbaum JF, Wilens TE (eds) Massachusetts General Hospital comprehensive clinical psychiatry. Elsevier Health Sciences, p 152–64, 2016). This chapter discusses the history and development of CBT for anxiety disorders, giving an overview of both behavioral and cognitive therapies, and examines the core principles and practice of CBT for anxiety disorders in general as well as how CBT has been adjusted to target the symptoms of each anxiety disorder. Additionally, this chapter examines the efficacy and accessibility of CBT, discussing the potential for new delivery methods and cultural adaptations to increase accessibility and generalizability. Lastly, this chapter explores modifications of traditional CBT and future directions.