title: Psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE Various approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) have been shown to be effective for social anxiety disorder. For psychodynamic therapy, evidence for efficacy in this disorder is scant. The authors tested the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy and CBT in social anxiety disorder in a multicenter randomized controlled trial. METHOD In an outpatient setting, 495 patients with social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to manual-guided CBT (N=209), manual-guided psychodynamic therapy (N=207), or a waiting list condition (N=79). Assessments were made at baseline and at end of treatment. Primary outcome measures were rates of remission and response, based on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale applied by raters blind to group assignment. Several secondary measures were assessed as well. RESULTS Remission rates in the CBT, psychodynamic therapy, and waiting list groups were 36%, 26%, and 9%, respectively. Response rates were 60%, 52%, and 15%, respectively. CBT and psychodynamic therapy were significantly superior to waiting list for both remission and response. CBT was significantly superior to psychodynamic therapy for remission but not for response. Between-group effect sizes for remission and response were small. Secondary outcome measures showed significant differences in favor of CBT for measures of social phobia and interpersonal problems, but not for depression. CONCLUSIONS CBT and psychodynamic therapy were both efficacious in treating social anxiety disorder, but there were significant differences in favor of CBT. For CBT, the response rate was comparable to rates reported in Swedish and German studies in recent years. For psychodynamic therapy, the response rate was comparable to rates reported for pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral group therapy.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany. falk.leichsenring@psycho.med.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leichsenring
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salzer
authors.forename: Manfred E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Beutel
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herpertz
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoyer
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huesing
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joraschky
authors.forename: Bjoern
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nolting
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poehlmann
authors.forename: Viktoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ritter
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stangier
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stuhldreher
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tefikow
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teismann
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Willutzki
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltink
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leibing
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods; D012074:Remission Induction