The Effectiveness of Education Based on Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Behavioral Model on Reducing Meta-worry Belief in Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of education based of the cognitive, metacognitive, and behavioral model on the reduction of meta-worry beliefs in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Methods:The research was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population comprised all patients with SAD referring to public and private centers for consulting and psychotherapy in Kermanshah, Iran, in 2016. The study sample were selected using purposeful sampling method. A total of 30 patients were chosen through structured clinical interview for DSM-IV axis I disorders (SCID-1) and administering metaworry subscale of Well's questionnaire of anxious thoughts (1994). Then, they were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control. The study instrument was the meta-worry subscale of Well's questionnaire of anxious thoughts (1994). Twelve cognitive, metacognitive, and behavioral treatment sessions (for the developed model) on the basis of relevant theoretical insights were held for the experimental group twice a week while the control group received no intervention. After the treatment, both groups were evaluated with the questionnaire of anxious thoughts. For data analysis, ANCOVA test was administered using SPSS19. Results:The results showed that education based on cognitive, metacognitive, and behavioral model was effective on the reduction of meta-worry belief among patients with SAD in the experimental group (P < 0.001). Conclusion:Considering the effectiveness of the model, it seems that therapists and counselors can use this developed model to reduce meta-worry belief among patients with SAD.