Comparing the efficacy of CBT for anxiety sensitivity to disorder-specific CBT in reducing mental health symptoms: A randomized controlled trial

Many Canadians with a mental health problem struggle to access effective services. This may be because they live in a rural area with limited services and no clinicians who treat their condition, or because they live with symptoms of more than one disorder (e.g., social anxiety and depression) and our current methods of treating co-occurring conditions (e.g., undergoing two treatments) are not always effective or practical. Such situations have promoted interest in transdiagnostic treatment. This treatment targets underlying risk factors shared by several disorders. By treating shared risk factors, people might get relief from symptoms of multiple disorders. Similarly, one clinician can be trained to deliver treatment to people with a range of disorders. One risk factor that might be targeted in this type of treatment is anxiety sensitivity. Anxiety sensitivity is a fear of arousal-related sensations (e.g., rapid heart rate, breathlessness) that arises from beliefs that these sensations will have serious physical, psychological, or social consequences (e.g., heart attack). Research has shown that high anxiety sensitivity is linked to several mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. We know that a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) reduces anxiety sensitivity. Thus, the purpose of the proposed study is to compare the effects of CBT for anxiety sensitivity to disorder-specific CBT (e.g., CBT for social anxiety) on mental health and addiction symptoms for people with high anxiety sensitivity. Knowledge obtained from this research will help us understand if treatment targeted at anxiety sensitivity can reduce symptoms of multiple disorders within an individual to the same or a better degree than traditional disorder-specific treatment in the short- and long-term. If effective, this transdiagnostic treatment could increase access to a simple, effective, practical, and cost-effective treatment for Canadians.