Conclusions
IUT, depression, psychiatric
We found that primary health care patients were willing to participate in a pilot study that compared two protocols for treating GAD. Therapists working in regular primary health care could provide protocol-based psychological treatment with some competence and adherence after brief training and regular supervision. We therefore conclude that it is feasible to carry out a full-scale RCT that compares the effectiveness of IUT and MCT for primary health care patients with GAD.The preliminary evaluation of treatment effects suggests that both IUT and MCT effectively reduce worry, depression, and functional impairment, and increase quality of life for at least six months after treatment. However, MCT had superior effects on all outcomes, including recovery. MCT also achieved these outcomes in fewer sessions, which is relevant in primary health care setting. As these findings are similar to those of previous studies that compared MCT to IUT or other CBT in psychiatric outpatient clinics, we conclude that further studies of CBT, and specifically MCT, for primary health care patients with GAD are crucial to establish more knowledge and increase the availability of such treatments in primary health care.