Introduction
anxiety disorders, IUT, psychiatric, depression, somatic complaints
SECONDARY, RECRUITMENT, DISORDERS
Across the world, primary health care is the setting where most people with common mental disorders receive diagnosis and treatment [Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for several anxiety disorders [Although CBT is not recommended as the first-hand treatment for GAD, previous meta-analyses suggest that it is an effective treatment [One of the main CBT protocols used for GAD in Sweden is intolerance-of-uncertainty therapy (IUT) [Another protocol for treating GAD is metacognitive therapy (MCT) [Although both IUT and MCT are well-established protocols, only one previous study has compared the effectiveness of IUT and MCT in the treatment of GAD [A full-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to evaluate effects of CBT and MCT in primary health care patients with GAD could investigate whether CBT and/or MCT is as effective in this setting as in psychiatric care. People with GAD who seek primary care for their symptoms typically present with somatic complaints [However, to the best of our knowledge, neither protocol has been evaluated in a primary health care setting. There are therefore several uncertainties about the feasibility of performing a full-scale RCT designed to compare the effectiveness of the two protocols for patients with GAD in primary health care, including recruiting and retaining participants [Thus, the primary aim of the present randomized controlled pilot trial was to investigate the feasibility of a future full-scale RCT designed to compare the effects of IUT and MCT in primary health care patients with GAD. Feasibility outcomes included participant recruitment and retention, willingness to receive psychological treatment, and therapists’ competence in and adherence to treatment protocols. A secondary aim was to explore the preliminary effects of the two treatments on measures of worry, depression, functional impairment, and quality of life.