Acupuncture as a Viable Adjunct to Psychotherapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Objective: To observe the effectiveness of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy to solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) in reducing anxiety levels. Method: Ten patients diagnosed of generalized anxiety dis order (GAD) by a licensed therapist were treated with acupuncture for six weeks. Each participant completed a generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD 7) survey before the treatment, once a week thereafter, and six weeks after the completion of the treatment. Results: All ten participants experienced a reduction in their experi ence of anxiety based on the GAD 7 assessment. Six weeks after acupuncture treatment, all of the ten partic ipants still maintained their low GAD 7 scores. There were no adverse events associated with acupuncture treatment. Conclusion: Acupuncture is a viable adjunct therapy to SFBT in the treatment of GAD.