Anxiety Treatment Inspired by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Anxiety Treatment Inspired by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) - An Alternative for Patients Who Previously Received Exposure-based Treatment for Anxiety Without Sustained Improvements.

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01571089

Enrollment

Registered

2012-04-04

Start date

2012-03-31

Completion date

2014-10-31

Last updated

2015-05-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Treatment Resistant Anxiety Disorders

Keywords

Dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, emotion regulation, emotion dysregulation, anxiety disorders, skills training

Brief summary

The main interest in this study is to investigate if it is possible to use strategies from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to increase effectiveness of ordinary Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for patients with anxiety disorders. For the patients included in this study, previous exposure-based treatment should have been unsuccessful (drop-out, relapse or lack of positive results after treatment).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALDBT-inspired anxiety treatment

In short, the treatment is 24 sessions consisting of skills-training strategies and exposure strategies. The idea is that the patient during the treatment will learn and practice the skills needed to handle exposures.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 64 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Currently diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. To be included, the level of anxiety in a critical situation should be high and of a more acute type, unlike the lower more generalized anxiety in for example generalized anxiety disorder. * Previous exposure-based treatment should have been unsuccessful (drop-out, relapse or lack of positive results after treatment).

Exclusion criteria

* Severe depression. * Psychotic disorder. * A documented neuropsychiatric diagnosis.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Change in anxiety (Clark, D. M., Ehlers, A., McManus, F., Hackmann, A., Fennell, M., Campbell, H., Flower, T., Davenport, C., Louis, B., 2003).	Every day during baseline phase, an expected average of 3 weeks. Everyday during treatment, an expected duration of 24 weeks. Everyday during 6 mo. follow-up, an expected average of 3 weeks.	A modified 6-item questionnaire measuring changes in different aspects of anxiety during the day. Originally developed to measure social anxiety.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS), (Barlow, 2011).	Once a week during baseline phase, an expected average of 3 weeks. Once a week during treatment, an expected duration of 24 weeks. Once a week during 6 mo. follow-up, an expected average of 3 weeks.	A 5-item questionnaire measuring different aspects of anxiety during the past week. The questionnaire is used to evaluate changes in anxiety symtoms.
Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS), (Barlow, 2011).	Once a week during baseline phase, an expected average of 3 weeks. Once a week during treatment, an expected duration of 24 weeks. Once a week during 6 mo. follow-up, an expected average of 3 weeks.	A 5-item questionnaire measuring different aspects of depression during the past week. The questionnaire is used to evaluate changes in depressive symtoms.
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), (Gratz & Roemer, 2004).	Five times total. Pre baseline, post baseline/post treatment, after 14 weeks of treatment, post treatment and at 6 mo. follow-up.	A 36-item self-report instrument that measure changes in difficulties in emotion regulation.
Positive Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), (Watson, Clark & Tellegan, 1988).	Once a week during baseline phase, an expected average of 3 weeks. Once a week during treatment, an expected duration of 24 weeks. Once a week during 6 mo. follow-up, an expected average of 3 weeks.	A 20-item questionnaire measuring positive and negative affect during the past week. The questionnaire is used to evaluate changes in positive and negative affect.
WHOQOL-BREF (Skevington, Lofty, O´Connel & WHOQOL Group, 2004).	Five times total. Pre baseline, post baseline/post treatment, after 14 weeks of treatment, post treatment and at 6 mo. follow-up.	A 26-item self-report instrument that measure changes in quality of life.
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-I (SCID-I), (First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 2001).	Pre- and post treatment	A structural interview assessing axis-I disorders. This instrument is used to evaluate changes in axis-I disorders in the patients.
Five Fazet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006).	Five times total. Pre baseline, post baseline/post treatment, after 14 weeks of treatment, post treatment and at 6 mo. follow-up.	A 39-item questionnaire measuring changes in different aspects of mindfulness.

Countries

Sweden

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026