Transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural treatment and the impact of co-morbidity: An open trial in a
cohort of primary care patients
Sammanfattning
Background: The development of initiatives to improve access to psychological therapies has
been driven by the realization that untreated anxiety and depression are both very common and
costly to individuals as well as society. Effective and efficient treatments, mostly in the form of
cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT), can be used in ways which enhance their acceptability and
accessibility. To date, numbers of group therapies have been developed to improve cost efficiency,
but in spite of growing interest in transdiagnostic approaches, group therapies have so far mostly
been diagnosis specific. Aims: This study is aimed at evaluating a brief transdiagnostic cognitive
behavioural group therapy (TCBGT) designed to treat both anxiety and depression among patients in
primary care. Method: The participants were 287 adult patients in primary care with diagnoses of
depression and/or anxiety disorders. They underwent a 5-week TCBGT. A mixed design ANOVA was
used to evaluate differential effects of treatment according to diagnostic groups (anxiety versus
depression) and number of diagnoses (co-morbidity). Results: Pre-post differences were significant
and the treatment was equally effective for both anxiety disorders and depression. Number of
diagnoses did not affect the outcome. Conclusions: The study indicates feasibility of the brief
transdiagnostic group therapy for a wide range of mood and anxiety disorders in primary care. The
results indicate that low intensity, brief transdiagnostic group therapies may be a feasible way to
improve access to psychological therapies for a large number of patients.