8 Overcoming Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Manualized treatment has been embraced as an effective tool to manage a wide variety of conditions, including GAD. Most of the manuals presented thus far have focused on CBT skill development that is focused on the clinician and relies on the clinician to find creative ways to translate the skills to their clients.  Another approach, manualized treatment, calls for the development of a companion manual for both the clinician and the client.  This approach enables the client to follow along in their companion text and take it with them when they leave their therapy sessions.  In the next chapter, we discuss the role of in-session and out-of-session skill development as a cornerstone of CBT practice.

Matthew McKay and John White authored a companion manual for using CBT to treat GAD.  Their manual, titled “Overcoming Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Therapist and Client Manual,” was published by New Harbinger Publications in July 1999 and offers a session-by-session approach to CBT with GAD and may be an excellent resource for continued work with CBT and GAD.