AbstractsPsychology

The phenomenon of sudden gains (SG) and its association with treatment outcome was examined in this randomized controlled trial including cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and group psychotherapy (GPT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). This report is the first to compare SG in CBGT and GPT, with the latter therapy containing only nonspecific treatment factors. Participants were 39 college students with SAD as a primary diagnosis. Participants’ symptom severity was assessed by independent assessors at baseline, post-treatment and follow-up with the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Symptom severity was assessed after each session with the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). A total of 17.9% of participants experienced SG during treatment, which were not associated with significantly greater improvements at post-treatment (although close to statistical significance) or at follow-up. SG occurred in both CBGT and GPT at similar rates and magnitude, and the timing of SG was not statistically different in the two treatments.