Efficacy of Group Metacognitive Therapy on Anxiety and Thought Fusion in Women with Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Background and Anxiety and thought fusion are common problems in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The control of anxiety and worry is difficult and causes serious problems in patients’ lives. A treatment that could reduce these symptoms can reduce psychopathology, and improve their quality of life. This study investigated the efficacy of metacognitive therapy on anxiety and thought fusion in patients with GAD. A semi-experimental study was performed using pretest posttest design and a control group. The research population included married women in Ahvaz suffering from GAD who were selected via convenience sampling. The samples were 30 married women who were willing to participate in the study. They were randomly assigned into experimental (n=15) and control groups (n=15). Beck Anxiety Inventory and Thought Fusion Questionnaire were used. Metacognitive therapy was administered to the experimental group in ten-weekly, 120 minutes sessions during 2/5 months period while the control group received no intervention. All subjects completed Beck Anxiety Inventory and Thought Fusion Questionnaire in pre-test, posttest and follow up. The results of multivariate covariance analysis showed significant effect of metacognitive therapy on anxiety (F=111.61, P=0.001) and thought fusion (F=134.19, P=0.001) in the experimental group. The treatment results remained unchanged in 3 months follow up for anxiety (F=57.67, P=0.001) and thought fusion (F=120.1, P=0.001). Metacognitive therapy is effective on reduction of pathological symptoms in GAD.