Motivational Interviewing Enhances Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders

This pilot study tested whether the addition of motivational interviewing (MI) prior to group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety may improve the effectiveness of the treatment. Prior to group CBT, 40 individuals with a principal diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (40% panic disorder, 25% generalized anxiety disorder, 22.5% social phobia, and 12.5% others) were randomly assigned to receive either three individual sessions of MI or were assigned to a control group that did not receive MI. The pretreatment MI group, compared to the control group, experienced significantly greater reduction in anxiety symptoms post-CBT. These results suggest that brief MI pretreatment enhances the efficacy of CBT on anxiety. A combination of MI and CBT may be particularly promising for the treatment of anxiety, with MI directed at increasing motivation and commitment to change, and CBT directed at helping the client achieve the desired changes.