Effectiveness of Dugas’ Cognitive Therapy on Intolerance of Uncertainty, Cognitive Avoidance and Positive Believes about Worry in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Objectives Worry is a fundamental cognitive component of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). GAD is a chronic disorder. However, few studies have been conducted on the etiologic variables of this disorder. The present study sought to investigate the effectiveness of Dugas’ cognitive therapy on Intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance, and positive beliefs about worry.

This study was a semi-experimental study with control group. The statistical population included all people with GAD referred to Isfahan counseling centers. The statistical sample of the study was 30 people who were selected by convenient sampling and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (15) and the control group (15). Diagnosis of GAD was performed based on a structured clinical interview with DSM-5 (SCID-5-CV) and clinical diagnosis. For measuring pre-test, post-test and follow-up, the questionnaire of intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance questionnaire, and why-worry questionnaire were used. The intervention was completed in the form of 12 sessions of 90 minutes. To analyze the data, repeated variance analysis (mixed) was used.

The results showed that Dugas’ cognitive therapy significantly reduced the mean scores of GAD symptoms in the experimental group compared to the control group.

The findings of this research indicate that Dugas’ cognitive therapy has had a positive effect on the intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive avoidance and positive beliefs about worry and reduced symptoms (P<0/05). This treatment can be one of the effective ways to reduce the symptoms of GAD along with other drug interventions.