Self-help and minimal-contact therapies for anxiety disorders: Is human contact necessary for therapeutic efficacy?
Self-help materials, brief therapies, and treatments involving minimal therapist contact have all been proposed as effective and low-cost interventions for anxiety disorders. However, research also suggests that the therapeutic alliance is a central predictor of therapy outcome. Interestingly, amounts of therapist contact within and across "self-help" interventions vary greatly. It is therefore unclear how much therapist contact is necessary for a positive anxiety disorder treatment outcome. The present article reviews the literature on anxiety disorder treatments using self-help, self-administered, and decreased therapist-contact interventions. Treatment studies are grouped together by anxiety diagnosis as well as amount of therapist contact. It is concluded that self-administered treatments are most effective for motivated clients seeking treatment for simple phobias. Predominantly self-help therapies are efficacious for panic disorder and mixed anxiety samples. On the other hand, minimal-contact therapies have demonstrated efficacy for the greatest variety of anxiety diagnoses.
Newman
Michelle G
MG
Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 16802-3103, USA. mgn1@psu.edu
Erickson
Thane
T
Przeworski
Amy
A
Dzus
Ellen
E
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012648:Self Care; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D016896:Treatment Outcome