Self help programme for anxiety in general practice: controlled trial of an anxiety management booklet

Behavioural methods of treating anxiety have been shown to be highly effective but are not widely available in general practice where most people suffering from anxiety are treated. This study reports a development in service delivery which is simple, inexpensive and does not make great time demands on general practitioners or require them to extend their training and expertise. The study shows that for patients suffering from panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder the use of an anxiety management booklet in addition to their usual treatment from their general practitioner produces clinically and statistically significant improvements. Of particular importance is the speed of response to the booklet. Within the first two weeks those patients who received the booklet were significantly less anxious than the controls. The booklet was acceptable to patients and recommendations are made about how to incorporate it into clinical practice.