The feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a two-week attention training technique intervention for young adults with mixed anxiety disorders

The study investigated the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a two-week group Attention Training Technique (ATT; Wells, 1990, 2007) intervention for patients with mixed anxiety disorders in a residential setting, compared to a waitlist control. Twenty patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, or generalized anxiety disorder were randomly assigned either to receive the ATT intervention first or wait three weeks before treatment. Patients were assessed at baseline, pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up. Results supported ATT feasibility, as evidenced by patient credibility, treatment expectancy, retention rate and drop-out rate. There was a significant difference in anxiety improvement between the ATT intervention and the waitlist. Among all patients who received the ATT intervention, a notable improvement in anxiety symptoms was observed from pre-treatment to post-treatment, with sustained improvement at 3- and 6-month follow-up. Clinical evaluations of patients' diagnoses indicated a marked reduction in diagnosis severity from baseline to post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. Patients also showed consistent improvement across all secondary outcome measures. A two-week group ATT intervention in a residential setting appeared feasible and was associated with improvements in anxiety symptoms, diagnoses, and related psychological problems, which were sustained at follow-up.