Choices in Therapy Options Reduce Anxiety

According to a new study in the treatment for anxiety disorders by the National Institute of Mental Health, it was discovered that patients respond better to treatment when they have a say in the type of treatment they will receive.  Apparently, offering flexible treatment options for those who suffer from anxiety leads to more effective treatment and lasting improvement.

Though anxiety-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, social anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder, may result from many different root causes, all are best treated, according to this recent study, by providing patients a choice in their treatment programs of either talking therapy, drug treatment, or a combination of both.  When patients feel that they have an element of control in their treatment, the study finds, better results in treatment are likely to occur.

The anxiety treatment study was conducted on more than 1000 test subjects in Arkansas, California and Washington, and tracked their progress with treatment over the course of a year.  Approximately 500 subjects were given the opportunity to choose their treatment option of talking therapy, drug treatment or a combination of both options.  Another 500 subjects continued the current treatment prescribed by their doctors.  The study reveals that after one year, 64% of subjects who were allowed to choose their treatment option saw improvement, while 45% of subjects who continued their usual regimen of treatment saw improvement in their condition.

Of the 500 patients offered the opportunity to choose their treatment option, 34% chose to utilize talking therapy only, 57% chose a combination of medication and talking therapy, and 9% opted to only take anti-anxiety medication.  In addition, a computer-based tracking system was utilized by the mental health professionals in the treatment of these patients.

Researchers propose that the evidence strongly suggests that patients show greater improvement in their anxiety-related conditions when permitted to select their treatment option.  It is unclear, however, what aspect of the treatment selection process is most beneficial to patients.  For instance, it is possible that merely selecting a treatment option may engage the patient in a quest to conquer his condition, and this may be enough to ensure more effective treatment results.  Also, there is a possibility that the availability of treatment options, like therapy sessions over the phone, may have opened new opportunities for treatment that were previously unavailable to the patient, and proved to be just the sort of treatment the patient needed after all.

Overall, researchers in this study found that the opportunity to select their treatment options is beneficial for patients, regardless of the root causes of the benefit.  Offering treatment options to patients and computerized tracking tools to mental health professionals seems to aid patients in getting the most from both talking therapy and drug treatments.

Though the positive outcome for programs that implement computerized tools and options in treatment is clear, mainstreaming such programs into the current health care system would require revolutionary and widespread changes.  Perhaps such changes would create a more welcoming environment for those suffering from anxiety-related disorders and encourage them to seek the treatment they need rather than suffer in silence as so many are prone to do.