Guided Self-help for Anxiety - a Patient Preference Trial

Supporting patients in exerting choice over their treatment is a central aspect of modern healthcare. In Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services, then patients treated at step 2 are only and always offered cognitive‐behaviourally informed guided self‐help (GSH), when they are deemed suitable for treatment at step 2 of IAPT services (termed CBT‐GSH). Step 2 interventions are guided self‐help (GSH) delivered by Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs). Recently, a new type of GSH has been developed and found to be feasible and effective in IAPT services ‐ this is called cognitive‐analytic guided self‐help (CAT‐GSH). This research aims to test the efficacy of CAT‐GSH by comparing outcomes over time achieved in both types of GSH and interviewing participants about their experience of the GSH. The methodology to support patient choice is a patient preference trial. In this method, then patients that meet inclusion criteria for the trial are offered and choose between either CAT‐GSH and CBT‐GSH. Those patients that are unconcerned with the type of treatment are randomised to either CAT‐GSH or CBT‐GSH. The primary outcome measure is the Beck Anxiety Inventory. No changes to the standard practice of the PWPs will occur during the trial, the trial will be situated in a standard IAPT service and be a therefore conducted in a routine practice setting.