The Effectiveness Of Group Existence Therapy On Anxiety Sensitivity And Psychological Well-Being In Women With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of group existence therapy on psychological well-being and anxiety sensitivity in women with generalized anxiety disorder. This semi-experimental study was conducted using pre-test and post-test with control group from all generalized anxiety disorder patients visited in Ardabil psychological clinic. 30 patients were selected through the convenience sampling method and randomly allocated into two equal experimental and control groups. Participants were selected via structured clinical interview   based on disorders axis I. Experimental group was exposed to 8 weeks of existence therapy, while control group received none. GAD Anxiety Inventory, Ryff Psychological Well-being Questionnaire (1995) and Taylor & Cox anxiety sensitivity Questionnaire (1998) were used in pre-test, post-test and follow up as the study instrument. Data were analyzed by descriptive indices and analysis of covariance. The results showed that there were significant difference in anxiety sensitivity and psychological well-being scores in experimental group and the control group. Thus, based on the findings of this study it could be said that the method of existential group psychotherapy decreased anxiety sensitivity and increased psychological well-being in women with generalized anxiety disorder.