The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on the severity of symptoms and worry in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

Background & Aim: Generalized anxiety disorder is one of the common psychiatric disorders characterized by chronic and uncontrollable worry. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness on the severity of symptoms and worry in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Methods: In this research, a quasi-experimental design, pre-test and post-test with a control group was used. The statistical population included all patients with generalized anxiety disorder who referred to psychological clinics in Behshahr city in 2019. A total of 40 patients were randomly assigned to 2 experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 8 sessions of mindfulness-based therapy. The data were collected using standard questionnaires of worry and pervasive anxiety. Univariate covariance analysis and SPSS version 26 software were used for data analysis. Results: The results showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy has an effect on the severity of symptoms and worry in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. The Eta coefficient for the severity of symptoms and anxiety was 0.63 and 0.31, respectively. Conclusion: According to the findings of this research, it can be concluded that the stress reduction treatment based on mindfulness is effective in reducing the severity of symptoms and reducing the worry of patients with generalized anxiety disorder, and this treatment can be one of the options. Effective treatment in reducing worry and severity of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms.