Group autonomy enhancing treatment versus cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders: A cluster-randomized clinical trial.

Background: Although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders, few evidence-based alternatives exist. Autonomy enhancing treatment (AET) aims to decrease the vulnerability for anxiety disorders by targeting underlying autonomy deficits and may therefore have similar effects on anxiety as CBT, but yield broader effects.

Methods: A multicenter cluster-randomized clinical trial was conducted including 129 patients with DSM-5 anxiety disorders, on average 33.