The effectiveness of Adlerian therapy on the clinical symptoms and the life satisfaction of generalized anxiety disordered students

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most prevalent anxiety disorder in clinical centers and students population that is frequently observed in its chronic form. The main aim of the present study was to explore the Adlerian Therapy effectiveness on the clinical symptoms and the life satisfaction of the generalized anxiety disordered students.
Using a semi experimental design a sample of 30 students of Neyshabur city, suffering from GAD were selected among students admitted to the counseling center of Azad University and Payam-e-Noor University of Neyshabur based on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and clinical interviews. Students then were randomly divided into two 15-member experimental and control groups and undergon ten 90-minutes Adlerian therapy sessions. The students were presented with the Diener's Life Satisfaction Questionnaire and Spielberger's State-Trait anxiety Inventory in the pretest and posttest, stages and the collected data were analyzed using covariance analysis.
The results of the study showed that Adlerian therapy could reduce the mean score of the state and trait anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group, no difference was found for the life satisfaction variable.
Adlerian therapy can be effective intervention in reducing the severity of clinical symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. Application of this intervention is recommended to clinicians for reducing GAD symptoms in students.