EFFECTS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY ON COMORBID CONDITIONS IN GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER

Comorbid diagnoses were examined in 55 principal generalized anxiety d isorder (GAD) clients, and the effect of treatment for the principal d isorder on those conditions was evaluated. High rates of comorbid diag noses were present at pretherapy, with social and simple phobia being most common. The presence of additional diagnoses declined dramaticall y from pretherapy to follow-up and was significantly greater among cli ents for whom the GAD therapy had been successful than among clients f or whom GAD outcome had been ambiguous. This was generally true regard less of whether clients reported at follow-up that they had received f urther therapy since the posttherapy assessment.