Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety Disorders (DSM-5-TR)
Excessive worry, fear, or avoidance that interferes with daily functioning. Includes generalized anxiety (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety, specific phobias, and agoraphobia. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent class of mental disorders worldwide.
Prevalence: ~19% of US adults in any given year; ~31% lifetime
66 Therapeutic Approaches
Sorted by evidence tier: guideline-recommended first, then RCT-supported, then emerging/limited evidence.
Guideline-Recommended (2)
Cognitive-Behavioral
CBT
Aaron Beck · 1964
Effect: g = 0.80
~55-65% response
APA Div 12: Strong/Very Strong for multiple disorders. NICE: recommended for depression, all anxiety…
Cognitive-Behavioral
iCBT
Various (Andersson / Titov) · 2000
NICE: recommended for depression and anxiety (stepped care). Australian NHMRC: recommended. Growing …
RCT-Supported (39)
Trauma-Focused
Accelerated Resolution Therapy
Laney Rosenzweig · 2008
Cognitive-Behavioral
ACT
Steven Hayes · 1999
Effect: g = 0.57
~40-55% response
Cognitive-Behavioral
Behavioral Couples Therapy
Neil Jacobson / Andrew Christensen · 1979
Somatic
Biofeedback
Various (Sterman / Schwartz / Green) · 1960
Cognitive-Behavioral
CBT-I
Spielman / Perlis · 1987
Family Systems
Circle of Security
Glen Cooper / Kent Hoffman / Bert Powell · 1998
Integrative
Clinical Hypnotherapy
Milton Erickson · 1950
Integrative
EFT Tapping
Gary Craig · 1995
Effect: d = 1.23
~60-70% improvement
Trauma-Focused
EMDR
Francine Shapiro · 1989
Integrative
Emotion Regulation Therapy
Douglas Mennin & David Fresco · 2014
Effect: d = 1.09 (pre-post)
Humanistic
Emotion-Focused Therapy
Leslie Greenberg · 1990
Cognitive-Behavioral
Imagery Rehearsal Therapy
Barry Krakow · 1995
Humanistic
Interpersonal Process Group Therapy
Irvin Yalom · 1970
Humanistic
Life Review Therapy
Robert Butler · 1963
Integrative
MBSR
Jon Kabat-Zinn · 1979
Effect: g = 0.63
~40-55% response
Cognitive-Behavioral
Metacognitive Therapy
Adrian Wells · 2009
Effect: g = 0.97
~65-75% recovery
Humanistic
Person-Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers · 1951
Humanistic
Play Therapy
Virginia Axline · 1947
Psychoanalytic
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud · 1895
Cognitive-Behavioral
REBT
Albert Ellis · 1955
Effect: d = 0.58
~45-55% response
Cognitive-Behavioral
Schema Therapy
Jeffrey Young · 1990
Psychoanalytic
Short-Term Psychodynamic
Davanloo / Sifneos / Malan · 1968
Cognitive-Behavioral
Unified Protocol
David Barlow · 2011
Effect: d = 0.56
~50-60% across anxiety disorders
Cognitive-Behavioral
Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy
Lizabeth Roemer / Susan Orsillo · 2002
Somatic
Advanced Integrative Therapy
Asha Clinton · 2002
Trauma-Focused
Brainspotting
David Grand · 2003
Somatic
Character-Analytic Vegetotherapy
Wilhelm Reich · 1933
Cognitive-Behavioral
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Paul Gilbert · 2005
Cognitive-Behavioral
Compassionate Mind Training
Paul Gilbert · 2005
Psychedelic
EMBARK
Brennan / Belser · 2022
Attachment
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy
Sue Johnson / Leslie Greenberg (adapted) · 2012
Cognitive-Behavioral
Functional Analytic Psychotherapy
Robert Kohlenberg / Mavis Tsai · 1991
Family Systems
IFS
Richard Schwartz · 1995
Psychoanalytic
ISTDP
Habib Davanloo · 1980
Somatic
Neurofeedback
Barry Sterman / Joel Lubar · 1968
Integrative
Pluralistic Therapy
Mick Cooper / John McLeod · 2011
Humanistic
Positive Psychotherapy
Nossrat Peseschkian · 1977
Cognitive-Behavioral
Rumination-Focused CBT
Edward Watkins · 2016
Somatic
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
David Emerson / van der Kolk · 2005
Emerging / Limited Evidence (25)
Psychoanalytic
Adlerian Therapy
Alfred Adler · 1912
Psychoanalytic
AEDP
Diana Fosha · 2000
Trauma-Focused
Attachment-Focused EMDR
Laurel Parnell · 2013
Somatic
Bioenergetic Analysis
Alexander Lowen / Wilhelm Reich · 1956
Contemplative
Buddhist Psychology / Contemplative Psychotherapy
Chögyam Trungpa / Jack Kornfield / Mark Epstein · 1974
Integrative
Coherence Therapy
Ecker / Hulley · 1996
Humanistic
Collaborative Therapy
Harlene Anderson / Harold Goolishian · 1988
Family Systems
Contextual Therapy
Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy · 1973
Somatic
Craniosacral Therapy
John Upledger · 1970
Existential
Daseinsanalysis
Boss / Binswanger · 1942
Existential
Existential Psychotherapy
Rollo May / Irvin Yalom · 1958
Expressive
Focusing
Eugene Gendlin · 1978
Humanistic
Gestalt Therapy
Fritz & Laura Perls · 1951
Psychedelic
Holotropic Breathwork
Stanislav Grof / Christina Grof · 1976
Psychoanalytic
Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Jacques Lacan · 1953
Trauma-Focused
Lifespan Integration
Peggy Pace · 2003
Existential
Logotherapy
Viktor Frankl · 1946
Contemplative
Morita Therapy
Shoma Morita · 1919
Integrative
Multimodal Therapy
Arnold Lazarus · 1976
Postmodern
Narrative Therapy
Michael White / David Epston · 1990
Integrative
NLP
Richard Bandler & John Grinder · 1975
Somatic
Polyvagal-Informed Therapy
Porges / Dana · 2011
Somatic
Primal Therapy
Arthur Janov · 1970
Psychedelic
Psychedelic Harm Reduction & Integration (PHRI)
Various (Gorman, Nielson, Gael) · 2015
Expressive
Sound Therapy / Therapeutic Sound
Various (Mitchell Gaynor, Jonathan Goldman, Don Campbell) · 1990
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