Table 1. Characteristics of the included studies.
| Study | Ctry | Aims | Hypotheses |
Setting & Delivery format |
Targeted diagnoses (inclusion criteria) |
Groups (n) | Age |
% female | Diagnoses (distribution) at baseline | Principal diagnosis reported |
Comorb reported | Comorb assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch et al., 2012 [31] | US | To compare ACT and CBT in a sample with multiple anxiety disorders. | ACT would improve cognitive flexibility and valued living to a greater degree than CBT. | C F2F Indv |
D/AG, SAD, SP, OCD, or GAD | 1. ACT (57) 2. CBT (71) |
37,93 (11,70) | 52,3 | PD/AG (N = 53) SAD (N = 25) GAD (N = 26) OCD (N = 17) SP (N = 6) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Arch et al., 2013 [32] | US | To compare MBSR and CBT in the treatment of anxiety disorders. |
1. CBT would improve anxiety symptoms to a greater degree than MBSR 2. MBSR would improve broader symptoms (depression and co-occurring emotional disorders) to a greater degree than CBT. |
SP F2F Group |
PD/AG, SAD, SP, OCD, GAD, or PTSD | 1. MBSR (45) 2. CBT (60) |
45,91 (13,68) | 17 | PD/AG (N = 31) GAD (N = 38) SAD (N = 16) PTSD (N = 15) OCD (N = 5) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barlow et al., 2017 [18] | US | To explore whether the UP is at least as efficacious as single-disorder protocols in the treatment of anxiety disorders. |
The UP would be at least as efficacious as single-disorder CBT at post-treatment and at 6-month follow-up. | C F2F Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, OCD, or GAD | 1. UP (88) 2. SD-CBT (91) 3. WLC (44) |
31,10 (11,0) | 55,6 | OCD (N = 44) GAD (N = 62) PD/AG (N = 59) SAD (N = 58) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barrowclough et al., 2001 [57] | UK | To compare CBT and SC in older adults with anxiety disorders. | N/A | PC + C F2F Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, GAD, or Anx NOS | 1. CBT (19) 2. SC (24) |
72 (6,2) | 77 | PD/AG (N = 22) SAD (N = 1) GAD (N = 8) Anx NOS (N = 12) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Berger et al., 2014 [19] | CH | To compare T-CBT for symptoms of SAD, PD/AG, and GAD to SD-CBT and a WLC. | 1. To study whether T-CBT outpferforms SD-CBT. 2. To analyze whether both active treatment conditions outperform the WLC. |
C Internet Indv |
SAD, PD/AG, or GAD | 1. T-CBT (44) 2. SD-CBT (44) 3. WLC (44) |
35,1 (11,14) | 56 | SAD (N = 113) PD/AG (N = 44) GAD (N = 33) |
No | Yes | Yes |
| Berger et al., 2017 [48] | CH | To compare CBT+CAU for anxiety disorders to CAU in PC. | CBT + CAU would reduce anxiety and related symptoms to a greater degree than CAU in patients with SAD, PD/AG and/or GAD. | PC Internet Indv |
SAD, PD/AG, or GAD | 1. CBT + CAU (70) 2. CAU (69) |
42 (12,1) | 70,5 | SAD (N = 40) PD/AG (N = 63) GAD (N = 36) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Boettcher et al., 2014 [68] | DE | To compare MT to an online DF for SAD, PD, GAD, and/or Anx NOS. |
MT would improve anxiety, depression, insomnia, and quality of life to a greater degree than the online DF. | C Internet Indv |
SAD, PD/AG, GAD, or Anx NOS | 1. MT (45) 2. Online DF (46) |
38 (10,3) | 71,4 | GAD (N = 17) SAD (N = 26) PD (N = 30) Anx NOS (N = 18) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Bolton et al., 2014a [42] | US | To test transdiagnostic CBT for comorbid presentations of depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms among trauma survivors in a low-resource setting. | N/A | C F2F Indv |
Dep or PTSD | 1. CBT (182) 2. WLC (165) |
1: 36,5 (12,6) 2: 34,3 (11,4) |
63 | PTSD/Dep (N = 347) | No | No | No |
| Brenes et al., 2012 [58] | US | To compare CBT-T and IO for the treatment anxiety disorders in older adults. |
CBT-T would improve anxiety, worry, depressive symptoms, and quality of life to a greater degree than IO. | PC + C T Indv |
GAD, PD, or Anx NOS | 1. CBT-T (30) 2. IO (30) |
1: 68,8 (7,3) 2: 69.5 (6.9) |
83,3 | GAD (N = 30) GAD+PD (N = 25) PD (N = 3) Anx NOS (N = 2) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bressi et al., 2010 [69] | IT | To compare STPP and TAU in the treatment of patients with anxiety or depressive disorders. | 1. STPP would produce equal or greater reductions in psychiatric symptoms than TAU. 2. Patients in STPP would show fewer interpersonal problems than patients in TAU at post-treatment. |
SC F2F Indv |
GAD, PD, SAD, MDD, or DD | 1. STPP (30) 2. TAU (30) |
1: 35,75 (9,25) 2: 38,67 (9,28) |
76,7 | Dep (N = 21) PD (N = 15) SAD (N = 8) GAD (N = 16) |
Yes | No | No |
| Carlbring et al., 2011 [20] | SE | To compare T-CBT to an attention control condition (online discussion group) in anxiety disorders. | T-CBT would reduce symptoms of anxiety and mood, and increase quality of life. |
C Internet Indv |
Any specific anxiety disorder, or Anx NOS | 1. T-CBT (27) 2. AC (27) |
38,8 (10,7) | 76 | Dep (N = 23) PD (N = 5) PD+AG (N = 12) OCD (N = 1) PTSD (N = 1) SAD (N = 21) GAD (N = 11) Anx NOS (N = 7) |
No | Yes | No |
| Craske et al., 2007 [65] | US | To compare T-CBT for the treatment of principal PD/AG + CBT for the comorbid condition to CBT focused only on PD/AG |
1. CBT would improve symptoms of PD/AG to a greater degree than T-CBT 2. CBT would improve comorbid symptoms to a greater degree than T-CBT |
C F2F Indv /group |
PD/AG + 1 anxiety disorder/mood disorder | 1. CBT (33) 2. T-CBT (32) |
36,8 (9,1) | 60 | PD/AG (N = 65) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Day et al., 2013b [60] | CA | To compare CBT for the treatment of anxiety, depression and/or stress to a WLC in university students. |
1. CBT would improve anxiety, depression and stress symptoms to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. The improvements would be maintained at a 6-month follow-up. |
Univ stud Internet Indv |
Symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress | 1. CBT (33) 2. WLC (33) |
23,55 (4,98) | 89,3 | Participants had symptoms of anxiety, stress, and/or depression (information on diagnoses unavailable) | No | No | No |
| Dear et al., 2015 [21] | AU | To compare transdiagnostic CBT for GAD and comorbid symptoms to SD-CBT, in terms of relative efficacy and acceptability when provided in both clinician-guided and self-guided formats. |
1. Transdiagnostic CBT and SD-CBT would improve symptoms of GAD. 2. TD-CBT would improve symptoms of comorbid Dep, SAD and PD at each time point to a greater degree than SD-CBT. |
C Internet Indv |
Symptoms of GAD | 1. CBT (170) 2. SD-CBT (168) |
43,78 (11,29) | 76 | GAD (N = 338) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dear et al., 2016 [35] | AU | To compare transdiagnostic CBT for SAD and comorbid symptoms to SD-CBT, in terms of efficacy and acceptability when provided in both clinician-guided and self-guided formats. |
1. Transdiagnostic CBT and SD-CBT would improve symptoms of SAD similarly. 2. Transdiagnostic CBT would reduce symptoms of comorbid Dep, GAD and PD at each time point to a greater degree than SD-CBT. |
C Internet Indv |
Symptoms of SAD | 1. CBT (105) 2. SD-CBT (115) |
41,57 (10,89) | 58 | SAD (N = 220) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ejeby et al., 2014 [70] | SE | To compare CBT and MMI to CAU alone for patients with anxiety, depressive, and stress-related disorders. | CBT and MMI would improve quality of life and psychological symptoms to a greater degree than CAU alone. | PC F2F Group |
Depression, anxiety, stress, or somatoform disorders | 1. CBT + CAU (84) 2. MMI + CAU (80) 3. CAU (81) |
1: 43,3 (10,3) 2: 44,3 (9,5) 3: 45,0 (9,5) |
80,8 | Dep (N = 139) Anx disorders (N = 81) Somatoform disorders (N = 10) Eating disorders (N = 6) AUD (N = 2) |
No | No | No |
| Erickson et al., 2007 [71] | CA | To compare CBT for different anxiety disorders to a WLC. |
1. CBT would improve anxiety symptoms to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. CBT would improve within-group symptoms of anxiety at post-treatment and follow-up. |
C F2F Group |
PD/AG, OCD, SAD, GAD, SP, or PTSD | 1. CBT (73) 2. WLC (79) |
1: 40,7 (11,8) 2: 41,0 (11,1) |
63,8 | SAD (N = 46) PD/AG (N = 36) GAD (N = 31) PSTD (N = 16) OCD (N = 16) SP (N = 7) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Farchione et al., 2012 [22] | US | To compare the UP for anxiety disorder to a WLC. |
1. The UP would be efficacious in improving the symptoms of patients with GAD, SAD, PD/AG, and OCD. 2. The UP would reduce the severity of comorbid disorders at both post-treatment and follow-ups. |
C F2F Indv |
Anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (26) 2. WLC (11) |
1: 29,38 (9,86) 2: 30,64 (9,15) |
59,5 | GAD (N = 7) SAD (N = 8) OCD (N = 8) Anx NOS (N = 2) PDA (N = 8) PTSD (N = 1) SAD+Anx NOS (N = 1) GAD+SAD (N = 1) OCD+PD/AG (N = 1) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fogliati et al., 2016 [23] | AU | To compare transdiagnostic CBT for PD and comorbid symptoms to SD-CBT in terms of efficacy and acceptability when provided in both clinician-guided and self-guided formats. |
1. Transdiagnostic CBT and SD-CBT would improve symptoms of PD similarly. 2. Transdiagnostic CBT would reduce symptoms of comorbid Dep, GAD, and SAD at each time point to a greater degree than SD-CBT. |
C Internet Indv |
Symptoms of PD | 1. CBT (72) 2. SD-CBT (73) |
41,40 (11,28) | 79 | PD (N = 145) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Forman et al., 2007 [51] | US | To compare ACT and CBT in the treatment of anxiety and depression. |
1. CBT would show stronger mediation effects for the ability to identify and report on internal experiences than ACT. 2. ACT would show stronger mediation effects for experiential acceptance and current-moment awareness than CBT. | C F2F Indv |
Symptoms of anxiety and/or depression | 1. ACT (55) 2. CBT (44) |
27,87 (7,25) | 80,2 | Dep (N = 34) Anxiety disorder (N = 32) AD (N = 10) |
No | No | No |
| Hadjistavro- poulos et al., 2017 [72] |
CA | To compare CBT + standard support to CBT + optional support in the treatment of anxiety and depression. |
1. CBT + optional support would not be inferior to CBT + standard support. 2. CBT + optional support and CBT+ standard support would be similar in terms of symptom improvement, completion rates, and satisfaction with the treatment. |
C Internet Indv |
Symptoms of anxiety and/or depression | 1. CBT + standard support (92) 2. CBT + optional support (88) |
38,29 (12,92) | 78,7 | Dep (N = 97) GAD (N = 100) PD (N = 80) SAD (N = 96) |
No | Yes | Yes |
| Johansson et al., 2012 [73] | SE | To compare T-CBT for anxiety and comorbid symptoms to CBT, and to an active control group (Online DF focused on depression). | 1. T-CBT and CBT would produce improvements. 2. T-CBT would produce greater improvements than CBT. 3. An effect was expected on the online DF, but smaller than in the CBT treatment groups. |
C Internet Indv |
MDD | 1. T-CBT (39) 2. CBT (40) 3. Online DF (42) |
44,7 (12,1) | 71,1 | Dep (N = 121) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Johansson et al., 2013 [46] | SE | To compare PP and SC in patients with depression and anxiety disorders. | 1. PP would improve measures of depression and anxiety to a greater degree than SC. 2. Larger effects were expected on measures of depression in patients with depression as their principal diagnosis compared to patients who did not have depression as their principal diagnosis. 3. Larger effects were expected on measures of anxiety in patients with anxiety as their principal diagnosis compared to patients who did not have an anxiety disorder as their principal diagnosis. |
C Internet Indv |
MDD, SAD, PD, GAD, Anx NOS, or Dep NOS | 1. PP (50) 2. SC (50) |
44,9 (13,1) | 82 | Dep (N = 72) GAD (N = 49) SAD (N = 36) PD (N = 19) Anx/Dep NOS (N = 4) |
No | Yes | Yes |
| Johnston et al., 2011 [50] | AU | To compare Clinician-guided CBT and Coach-guided CBT to a WLC. |
1. The pooled Clinician-guided and Coach-guided groups would improve in general and on disorder-specific measures of anxiety, depression, and disability to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. Participants in the CBT groups would rate the treatment as acceptable. 3. The pooled Clinician-guided and Coach-guided groups would show significant improvement on disorder-specific measures of anxiety over time. 4. Participants in both CBT groups would show similar outcomes on all measures and at all measurement points. |
C Internet Indv |
GAD, SAD, or PD/AG | 1. Clinician guided CBT (46) 2. Coach guided CBT (43) 3. WLC (42) |
41,62 (12,83) | 58,8 | GAD (N = 59) SAD (N = 45) PD/AG (N = 27) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kim et al., 2009 [43] | KR | To compare MBCT to a Psychoeducation control group in patients with PD and GAD. | N/A | SC F2F Group |
GAD, or PD/AG | 1. MBCT (24) 2. Psychoeduc (22) |
1: 40,8 (7,3) 2: 38,1 (9,7) |
37 | GAD (N = 11) PD (N = 35) |
Yes | No | No |
| Lang et al., 2017 [59] | US | To compare ACT and P-CT in veterans with anxiety or depressive disorders, or those with postconcussive symptoms. |
N/A | PC + C F2F Indv |
Anxiety or depressive disorder | 1. ACT (80) 2. P-CT (80) |
34,2 (8) | 20 | Dep (N = 97) PTSD (N = 131) PD/AG (N = 124) SAD (N = 26) OCD (N = 21) GAD (N = 32) Anx NOS (N = 6) |
No | No | No |
| Marks et al., 2004 [62] | UK | To compare Comp SE and face-to-face SE to a placebo group (relaxation) in patients with phobias or panic disorder. |
1. Comp-SE would show similar efficacy to face-to-face SE. 2. Both SE groups would be more effective than Comp Self-Relaxation. |
SC Comp Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, or SP | 1. Comp SE (37) 2. Face-to-face SE (39) 3. Comp Self- Relaxation (17) |
38 (12) | 69 | PD+AG (N = 24) AG (N = 3) SAD (N = 24) SP (N = 39) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Mullin et al., 2015 [61] | AU | To compare CBT for university students with stress, anxiety, low mood, and depression to WLC, in terms of both efficacy and acceptability. |
1. CBT would reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression at post-treatment to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. Participants with clinical levels symptoms would show improvements consistent with those found in prior studies on Internet CBT. 3. Symptom improvements would be maintained at 3-month follow-up. 4. Participants would be satisfied with the treatment. |
Univ stud Internet Indv |
Symptoms of anxiety or depression | 1. CBT (30) 2. WLC (23) |
1: 28,6 (10,05) 2: 26,9 (11,51) |
64,2 | GAD (N = 40) PD (N = 12) SAD (N = 19) Dep (N = 18) |
No | Yes | No |
| Neacsiu et al., 2014 [66] | US | To compare DBT-ST for emotion dysregulation to an activities-based support group in order to: 1. Explore the effects of DBT-ST on anxiety and depression. 2. Investigate the mediation effects of DBT skills use on differential changes. 3. Explore whether confounding effects accounted for any significant outcomes. 4. Explore the feasibility of DBT-ST in terms of retention rates, treatment credibility and satisfaction, and compliance with the treatment protocol. |
1. DBT-ST would reduce emotion dysregulation to a greater degree than the activities-based support group. 2. The use of DBT skills would mediate the differential changes between groups. | C F2F Group |
Anxiety or depressive disorder | 1. DBT (22) 2. AC (22) |
1: 32,37 (10,50) 2: 38,82 (13,55) |
65,9 | Dep (N = 34) PD (N = 6) AG (N = 3) GAD (N = 29) SAD (N = 16) SP (N = 8) OCD (N = 5) PTSD (N = 4) Anx NOS (N = 4) SUD (N = 3) |
No | Yes | No |
| Newby et al., 2013 [52] | AU | To compare CBT for mixed GAD and MDD to a WLC. |
CBT would show greater improvements than the WLC. | C Internet Indv |
Symptoms of anxiety + depression | 1. CBT (46) 2. WLC (53) |
44,3 (12,2) | 77,8 | GAD/MDD (N = 47) GAD (N = 37) MDD (N = 15) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nordgren et al., 2014 [67] | SE | To compare CBT to an AC group in terms of cost-effectiveness on anxiety disorders. |
1. CBT would be moderately more effective than the AC group both at post-treatment and at 1-year follow-up. 2. CBT would be cost-effective. |
PC Internet Indv |
Anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (50) 2. AC (50) |
1: 35 (13) 2: 36 (12) |
63 | GAD (N = 10) SAD (N = 32) PD/AG (N = 31) AG (N = 8) Anx NOS (N = 19) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Norton, 2012 [28] | US | 1. To compare CBT to relaxation in terms of overall efficacy. 2. To compare CBT to relaxation on treatment credibility and acceptability. 3. To compare CBT effects across diagnoses to analyze differential efficacy by diagnosis. |
1. Participants in both groups would show significant improvements in anxiety over the course of treatment. 2. CBT would show equivalence/non inferiority with relaxation. 3. Participants would not show differences in outcomes by primary or secondary diagnosis. |
C F2F Group |
Anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (65) 2. Relaxation (22) |
32,98 (10,73) | 62,1 | SAD (N = 37) PD/AG (N = 31) GAD (N = 15) Anx NOS (N = 2) OCD (N = 1) SP (N = 1) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Norton & Hope, 2005 [24] | US | 1. To compare CBT to a WLC in patients with different anxiety disorders. |
1. CBT would produce significant improvements on diagnostic indices. 2. CBT would show significant reductions at post-treatment on measures of anxiety, whereas no improvement would be observed in the WLC on these measures. 3. CBT would improve measures of the common core psychopathology during the second phase of treatment, whereas no improvement would be observed in the WLC on these measures. |
C F2F Group |
Anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (12) 2. WLC (12) |
39,58 (11,88) | 60,9 | SAD (N = 5) PD/AG (N = 4) GAD (N = 10) OCD (N = 3) PD (N = 1) PTSD (N = 1) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Norton & Barrera, 2012 [49] | US | To compare transdiangostic CBT to SD-CBT for PD, GAD, and SAD. |
Both conditions would significantly improve anxiety over the course of treatment, and these results in both conditions would be non-inferior. | C F2F Group |
PD, SAD, or GAD | 1. CBT (23) 2. SD-CBT (23) |
31,46 (8,93) | 50 | SAD (N = 25) GAD (N = 10) PD (N = 11) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Proudfoot et al., 2003 [25] | UK | To compare CBT to TAU in patients with anxiety, depression, or mixed anxiety and depression. | CBT would produce greater improvements than TAU. |
PC Comp Indv |
Depression, mixed anxiety-depression, or anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (88) 2. TAU (77) |
1: 43,7 (14,7) 2: 45,7 (14,1) |
73,7 | Mixed anx-dep (N = 80) Dep (N = 61) PD (N = 10) SP (N = 4) AG (N = 5) SP (N = 5) |
Yes | No | No |
| Proudfoot et al., 2004 [63] | UK | 1. To compare CBT to TAU in patients with anxiety, depression, or mixed anxiety and depression in terms of efficacy. 2. To investigate interactions of CBT with clinical, demographic, and setting variables. |
N/A | PC Comp Indv |
Depression, mixed anxiety-depression, or anxiety disorders | 1. CBT (145) 2. TAU (128) |
1: 43,6 (14,3) 2: 43,4 (13,7) |
73,7 | Mixed anx-dep (N = 142) Dep (N = 92) PD (N = 14) SP (N = 11) AG (N = 8) SP (N = 6) |
Yes | No | No |
| Riccardi et al., 2017 [74] | US | To compare FSBET to a WLC. | 1. FSBET would improve overall outcome to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. FSBET would produce clinically significant improvements on principal diagnosis and secondary diagnosis symptoms. 3. Improvements in the FSBET group would be maintained at 1-month follow-up. 4. The relationship between pre- and post-treatment changes would be mediated by the reduction in safety aid use. |
C F2F Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, or GAD | 1. FSBET (16) 2. WLC (12) |
28,6 (11,8) | 75 | GAD (N = 9) PD (N = 8) SAD (N = 11) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Roy-Byrne et al., 2010 [47] | US | To compare CBT to CAU in patients with PD, GAD, SAD, or PTSD. | CBT would reduce symptoms of anxiety, and improve measures of health-related quality of life, functioning, and quality of care delivered to a greater degree than CAU. | PC Internet Indv |
PD, GAD, SAD, or PTSD | 1. CBT (503) 2. CAU (501) |
43,47 (13,4) | 71,1 | PD (N = 475) GAD (N = 756) SAD (N = 405) PTSD (N = 181) Dep (N = 648) |
No | Yes | No |
| Schmidt et al., 2012 [75] | US | To compare FSBET to a WLC in patients with multiple anxiety disorders. |
1. FSBET would improve in overall outcomes to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. FSBET would show efficacy on each of the anxiety disorders evaluated. 3. Improvements in the FSBET group would be maintained at 6-month follow-up. |
C F2F Group |
PD/AG, SAD, or GAD | 1. FSBET (57) 2. WLC (39) |
36,3 (10,7) | 72 | GAD (N = 26) PD (N = 36) SAD (N = 34) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Schmidt et al., 2017 [64] | US | To compare CAST + CBM to PHET + sham CBM in patients with co-ocurring anxiety and suicidal ideation. |
1. CAST + CBM would improve overall anxiety sensitivy and the cognitive dimension of anxiety sensitivity to a greater degree than PHET + sham CBM. 2. Reductions in anxiety sensitivity would be maintained at the 4-month follow-up. 3. Changes in anxiety sensitivity would affect symptoms of suicidal ideation at the follow-up period. |
C Comp Indv |
Clinical anxiety sensitivity + Suicidal ideation + Anxiety or depressive disorder | 1. CAST+CBM (37) 2. PHET+sham CBM (AC) (37) |
30,77 (14,16) | 75,6 | PD (N = 7) SAD (N = 10) OCD (N = 1) PTSD (N = 11) GAD (N = 2) Anx/Dep NOS (N = 2) Dep (N = 37) |
Yes | No | No |
| Schneider et al., 2005 [76] | UK | To compare CBT to minimal CBT in the treatment of PD/AG, SAD, and SP. |
CBT would improve phobia/panic to a greater degree than minimal CBT at post-treatment and follow-up. |
C Internet Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, or SP | 1. CBT (45) 2. Minimal CBT (23) |
39 (11) | 74 | PD+AG (N = 25) AG (N = 2) SAD (N = 24) SP (N = 17) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Schröder et al., 2017 [77] | DE | 1. To compare CBT to CAU in individuals with panic and phobias. 2. To explore differences in treatment effects by diagnosis. 3. To explore treatment moderators. |
N/A | C Internet Indv |
PD/AG, SAD, or SP | 1. CBT (89) 2. CAU (90) |
1: 36,5 (9,95) 2: 36,5 (10,26) |
72 | PD (N = 91) AG (N = 119) PD+AG (N = 73) SAD (N = 98) SP (N = 66) |
No | No | No |
| Silfvernagel et al., 2012 [78] | SE |
To compare T-CBT to a WLC in patients with panic symptoms with comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms, in two age groups (18–30 and 31–45 years old). |
1. T-CBT would produce decreases in measures of panic, anxiety, and depression. 2. T-CBT would increase quality of life. 3. The effects of T-CBT would be maintained at 12-month follow-up. 4. No significant differences would be observed between the two age groups. |
C Internet Indv |
Recurrent panic attacks | 1. T-CBT (29) 2. WLC (28) |
32,4 (6,9) | 65 | PD (N = 4) PD+AG (N = 47) GAD (N = 11) SAD (N = 9) Anx NOS (N = 1) Dep (N = 5) |
No | Yes | No |
| Taylor et al., 2017 [79] | US | To compare PAI to a WLC in individuals with anxiety or depression. |
N/A | C F2F Indv |
Anxiety or depressive symptoms | 1. PAI (16) 2. WLC (13) |
1: 29,8 (12,2) 2: 29,0 (12,0) |
60,7 | MDD (N = 16) SAD (N = 16) GAD (N = 11) PTSD (N = 6) PD (N = 2) OCD (N = 1) Eating disorder (N = 3) AUD (N = 2) SUD (N = 1) |
No | Yes | No |
| Titov et al., 2010 [26] | AU | 1. To compare CBT to a WLC in individuals with PD/AG, GAD, and/or SAD. 2. To analyze whether additional gains would be shown by the WLC after mofifying the treatment program with the feedback of the patients in the treatment group. |
1. CBT would improve measures of overall and disorder-specific anxiety, depression, neuroticism, and disability to a greater degree than the WLC. 2. Participants allocated to CBT would rate the procedure as acceptable. |
C Internet Indv |
GAD, SAD, or PD | 1. CBT (40) 2. WLC (38) |
39,5 (13,0) | 67,9 | GAD (N = 34) PD/AG (N = 21) SAD (N = 23) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Titov et al., 2011 [27] | AU | To compare CBT to a WLC in patients with GAD, SAD, and/or PD/AG. |
1. CBT would improve generic measures of depression and anxiety, neuroticism, and disability to a greater degree than the WLC 2. Fewer patients would meet the diagnostic criteria for MDD, GAD, SAD, or PD/AG in the treatment group 3. Participants allocated to CBT would rate the procedure as acceptable. |
C Internet Indv |
Depression, GAD, SAD, or PD/AG | 1. CBT (37) 2. WLC (37) |
43,9 (14,6) | 73 | Dep (N = 38) GAD (N = 21) PD/AG (N = 7) SAD (N = 8) |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Titov et al., 2013 [80] | AU | 1. To compare CBT + automated emails to CBT alone for symptoms of anxiety and depression in terms of clinical outcomes and adherence. 2. To provide preliminary data on safety and acceptability. |
1. CBT + automated emails would produce better completion rates and reductions in clinical outcomes than CBT alone. 2. CBT + automated emails would be more beneficial for more severe patients. |
C Internet Indv |
Depression, GAD, SAD, or PD | 1. CBT+ autom emails (100) 2. CBT only (106) 3. WLC (51) |
41,30 (9,76) | 73,5 | Dep (N = 85) GAD (N = 84) PD (N = 34) SAD (N = 54) |
Yes | No | No |
| Titov et al., 2015 [41] | AU | To compare transdiagnostic CBT for depression and comorbid symptoms toSD-CBT in terms of efficacy and acceptability when provided in both clinician-guided and self-guided formats. |
1. Transdiagnostic CBT and SD-CBT would improve symptoms of depression similarly. 2. Transdiagnostic CBT would reduce symptoms of comorbid PD, GAD, and SAD at each time point to a greater degree than SD-CBT. |
C Internet Indv |
Depression symptoms | 1. CBT (149) 2. SD-CBT (141) |
44,19 (11,75) | 72 | Dep (N = 290) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vøllestad et al., 2011 [45] | NO | To compare MBSR to a WLC in patients with PD/AG, SAD, and GAD. |
N/A | C F2F Group |
PD/AG, SAD,or GAD | 1. MBSR (39) 2. WLC (37) |
42,5 (11,3) | 67,1 | PD/AG (N = 38) SAD (N = 25) GAD (N = 13) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Wetherell et al., 2009 [44] | US | To compare MP to Enhanced community treatment in patients with GAD or Anxiety NOS. |
MP would improve anxiety, depression, and quality of life to a greater degree than Enhanced community treatment. |
C F2F Indv |
GAD or Anx NOS | 1. MP (15) 2. Enchanced community treatment (16) |
1: 71 (7) 2: 73,3 (6,3) |
83,9 | GAD (N = 27) Anx NOS (N = 4) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Wuthrich & Rapee, 2013 [81] | AU | To compare CBT to a WLC in older patients with comorbid anxiety and depression. |
CBT would produce significant improvements on all symptom measures at post-treatment. Improvements would be maintained at the 3-month follow-up. |
C F2F Group |
Anxiety + depression symptoms | 1. CBT (27) 2. WLC (35) |
67,44 (6,19) | 64,5 | GAD (N = 21) SAD (N = 6) SP (N = 1) PTSD (N = 3) Dep (N = 29) Anx NOS (N = 2) |
Yes | Yes | No |
| Wuthrich et al. 2016 [53] | AU | To compare CBT to a discussion group in older patients with comorbid anxiety and depression. |
Both conditions would improve diagnostic severity and symptom outcomes. CBT would improve anxiety and depression and diagnostic severity to a greater degree than the discussion group Improvements of participants allocated to CBT would be maintained at the 6-month follow-up. |
C F2F Group |
Anxiety disorder + depressive disorder | 1. CBT (76) 2. Discussion group (57) |
67,35 (5,44) | 55,6 | GAD (N = 44) Dep (N = 37) |
No | No | No |
Note. Ctry: Country; Comorb: Comorbidity; C: Community; F2F: Face-to-face; Indv: Individual; N/A: Not available; SP: Specialized care; PC: Primary care; T: Telephone; Univ stud: University students; Comp: Computerized; PD/AG: Panic disorder/agoraphobia; SAD: Social anxiety disorder; SP: Specific phobia; OCD: Obsessive-compulsive disorder; GAD: Generalized anxiety disorder; PTSD: Posttraumatic stress disorder; Anx NOS: Anxiety disorder not otherwise specified; MDD: Major depressive disorder; Dep NOS: Depressive disorder not otherwise specified; Dep: Depression (major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder or dep NOS); M anx-dep: Mixed anxiety and depression; ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; MBSR: Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction; UP: Unified Protocol; SD-CBT: Single-disorder Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; WLC: Waiting-list Control; SC: Supportive Counseling; T-CBT: Tailored Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; CAU: Care as Usual; MT: Mindfulness Treatment; CBT-T: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy delivered by Telephone; IO: Information-only; STPP: Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; TAU: Treatment as Usual; AC: Attention Control; MMI: Multimodal Intervention; PP: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; MBCT: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy; P-CT: Present-centered Therapy; SE: Self-exposure; DBT: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy; FSBET: False Safety Behavior Elimination Therapy; CAST: Cognitive Anxiety Sensitivity Treatment; CBM: Cognitive Bias Modification; PHET: Physical Health Education Training; PAI: Positive Activity Intervention; MP: Modular Psychotherapy; Hp: Hypochondriasis; SD: Somatoform disorder; AUD: Alcohol use disorder; AD: Adjustment disorder; SUD: Substance use disorder
aData on diagnoses from Bolton et al. (2014) [42] were not included in the analysis because patients with PTSD could not be distinguished from those with Dep (i.e. we could not determine whether patients had both PTSD and Dep, or how many patients had PTSD and how many had Dep)
bData from Day et al. (2013) [60] were not included in the analysis because no information on diagnoses was provided in this study