Treating Anxiety Disorder with CBT and Person-Centered Therapy

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Therapeutic Change-Cognitive Behavioral Disorder

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Abstract

Psychological problems can be treated using several methods, and the higher the levels of
effectiveness of a method used, the better for the patient. In assessing the change and growth
model, successful treatment of a generalized anxiety disorder leads to an improved quality of life
in a patient. A person-centered therapy approach is applied in this research to show how the
strength of the relationship between a psychotherapist and the patient can help in generating
positive healthcare outcomes for patients. Additionally, cognitive behavioral therapy is used in
the research and is described as a talk therapy that helps in altering thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors for positive outcomes in the psychological health of the patient. A person-centered
therapy focuses on empathy, genuineness, and positive regard and is described as an effective
method of addressing psychological disorders in patients, including generalized anxiety disorder.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used to explain the need to meet various types of psychological
needs of patients. Further, a sample treatment plan and a method of assessing the effectiveness of
results are provided.

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Introduction

Psychological problems occur due to a factor or several factors that one faces in life,
leading to the development of different psychological diseases. Psychological diseases can be
classified using the causative factors, the signs and symptoms, and the treatment methods. Some
psychological diseases include stress, disorder, anxiety, depression, and trauma. There is a need
to institute person-centered therapy as one of the most effective methods of enabling a person
suffering from a psychological condition to heal. Concerning psychological conditions facing
different people, the process of growth and change is characterized by the existence of a
treatment plan for the specific condition to ensure that the patient's psychological condition
changes for the better. A cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach is a mode of addressing
change that will be addressed in this report in relation to the guidelines provided in various
psychotherapy literature. An efficacy and effectiveness research from credible sources will be
used to inform the methods of treatment for a person suffering from a generalized anxiety
disorder with a critique of the method used for treatment.

Therapeutic change and growth

Symington (2017) describes the process of seeking treatment for a psychological
condition as an act of freedom where a patient seeks to be free from the psychological harm
caused by the prevalence of a condition such as anxiety (Symington, 2017). The process of
therapeutic change helps in growth since it averts some of the negative outcomes that are
associated with the failure or delay by a patient in seeking treatment for psychological
conditions. Some of the negative outcomes that could result due to the failure to seek therapeutic
change could be an increase in the extremity of the conditions and the existence of other

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psychological problems. Some people may also commit suicide with an increase in the levels of
suffering from a psychological condition such as generalized anxiety disorder. A comparison of
the methods used in initiating therapeutic change shows that psychotherapy is more effective
than pharmacotherapy. In research by Thiruchselvam et al. (2019), pharmacotherapy is made less
effective by the fact that it involves the use of various types of medicines that may result in a
number of side effects (Thiruchselvam et al., 2019). Psychotherapy in the research is identified
as an ideal mechanism for initiating therapeutic change due to the fact that psychotherapy
involves altering behavior to eliminate the negative feelings and the extreme effects of the
psychological conditions.

The process of initiating change through psychotherapy is also cost-effective compared to
the use of pharmacotherapy. In an analysis of healthcare outcomes, analyzing the cost of
accessing a given healthcare service can be used to determine the method of treatment that is
most beneficial to a healthcare facility and a country as a whole. The lower the cost of treating a
given medical condition, the higher the abilities of a government to attain socioeconomic
sustainability in a country. Research shows that psychotherapy is less costly than
pharmacotherapy in the process of initiating change and growth and is, therefore, more preferred
(Cook et al., 2017). This report will focus on cognitive behavioral therapy as the method of
psychotherapy used in initiating change and growth in relation to generalized anxiety disorder as
the psychological condition under consideration.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Tang (2018) defines cognitive behavioral therapy as a talk therapy that is used to alleviate
the pain and suffering that a patient suffers from due to the existence of a psychological

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condition such as generalized anxiety disorder (Tang, 2018). Additionally, Tang (2018) describes
cognitive behavioral therapy as a form of evidence-based form of therapy that involves talks
between a patient and a psychotherapist. The effectiveness of the talk defines the quality of
results obtained and the duration of regulating thoughts and emotions affecting the patients with
a generalized anxiety disorder and other psychological disorders. In consideration of the defining
features of cognitive behavioral therapy, this form of therapy is associated with using a patient-
tailored approach where a psychotherapist offers psychological treatment based on the methods
that can be classified as the most effective in relation to a patient. Richter et al. (2017) described
cognitive behavioral therapy as a form of a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral
therapy and that the treatment method not only helps in treating anxiety disorders but also
addresses sleep and chronic pain (Richter et al., 2017).

Lepping (2017) cites that the need for cognitive behavioral therapy in patients is
increased by the fact that emotions cannot be easily changed, and there need to be mechanisms
that can be used to control emotions, with the targeted end result being behavioral control
(Lepping, 2017). Turk & Meichenbaum (2017) highlights that thoughts and behaviors are the
major causes of distressing emotions and that cognitive behavioral therapy must address these
two major factors in treating anxiety disorders and other psychological conditions (Turk &
Meichenbaum, 2017). For instance, if the use of tobacco and other drugs is the major cause of a
generalized anxiety disorder in a patient, the most effective method of treating this condition is
controlling the behavior of the patient to eliminate the use of these drugs. Additionally, if the
thoughts that lead to generalized anxiety disorder originate from memories of childhood abuse or

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some form of bullying as a child, the most effective method of initiating success in cognitive
behavioral therapy is to control the thoughts and consequently the emotions of the patient.

An effective cognitive behavioral therapy treatment is planned in sessions, and the length
of the sessions and the number of sessions are determined by the extremity of the conditions that
the patient is suffering from. The easier the ability to control the thoughts and behavior of a
patient, the lesser the number of sessions. On the contrary, the higher the levels of difficulty in
initiating treatment and controlling the thoughts and behaviors of a patient suffering from a
psychological disorder, the more the number of sessions with a psychotherapist and the longer
the duration of each session. The following chart shows the interaction of factors that lead to the
existence and growth of generalized anxiety disorder in a patient.

In the chart, the listed aspects include situations, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings and the
factors have an interrelationship that leads to a generalized anxiety disorder. In an analysis of the
chart, a situation may exist in the form of childhood abuse, leading to thoughts of anger. These
thoughts leads to behaviors such as isolation of oneself and the engagement in the use of various
drugs. The drugs lead to a feeling of anxiety, and a patient gets stressed.

Person-Centered Therapy

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The success of a therapy session to treat a psychological disorder depends on the strength
of a therapeutic relationship between a patient and a psychotherapist. The stronger the
relationship, the higher the chances of success in terms of eliminating the negative thoughts and
behaviors that lead to the prevalence of a psychological disorder and the increased effects of
these disorders. The existence of person-centered therapy is arguably the best method of ensuring
that a patient gets the best quality of psychotherapy services to increase the positive outcomes
from psychotherapy sessions. In person-centered therapy, the main aim is for the psychotherapist
to understand the emotions and feelings of a patient in order to design a treatment plan that will
work and increase the positive outcomes from the therapy sessions.

Morera-Balaguer et al. (2019) detail that active listening is one of the crucial aspects of
person-centered therapy. In active listening, the aim is to ensure that the psychotherapist
understands the factors that have led to the existing thoughts and feelings in the patient and the
origin of these factors (Morera-Balaguer et al., 2019). In active listening, a psychotherapist
usually engages in the paraphrasing of information provided by a patient to ensure that the
information is well understood and that there is no ambiguity in terms of the causation factors
and the current thoughts and emotions in the patient. For instance, active listening by a
psychotherapist involves repeating sentences said by a patient to understand the meaning that the
patient intended. The higher the levels of accuracy by a psychotherapist in understanding the
thoughts and emotions affecting a patient, the higher the possibilities of positive outcomes.

In the process of active listening, a psychotherapist can initiate change by ensuring that a
patient lets go of dysfunctional relationship patterns and irrational beliefs that may be the causes
of the prevalence and effects of psychological disorders. Additionally, the process of active

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listening is described by Morera-Balaguer et al. (2019) as resulting in the end of behaviors that
result in self-sabotage and substituting these behaviors with other behaviors that are positive, and
proactive, and conscious. For instance, active listing by a psychotherapist helps to train the
patient that he is not hated but loved, and this aspect leads to happiness and the adoption of a
proactive approach in life. The process of active listening is dependent on three major conditions,
including empathy, genuineness, and positive regard.

Empathy

Jones et al. (2019) describe empathy as the ability of a psychotherapist to understand the
various forms of experiences from the point of view of the patient. Therefore, a person-centered
therapy should be characterized by empathy to ensure that in the process of designing the
applicable treatment for a patient, a psychotherapist has an understanding of the painful thoughts
and emotions that led to the current state of affairs in the life of a patient (Jones et al., 2019). For
instance, if the generalized anxiety disorder is caused by rape and other forms of childhood
abuse, the psychotherapist must first be empathetic to understand how the patient feels that she
was abused and raped as a child, possibly by one of her close family members. Manusov et al.
(2020) detail that the success of empathy in person-centered therapy is also dependent on the
psychotherapist’s ability to ask questions in curious and respectful manner and to eliminate any
aspect that may classify the psychotherapist as being judgmental (Manusov et al., 2020).

In showing empathy in person-centered therapy, there is a need for a psychotherapist to
have an understanding of the cultural background of the patient in order to understand some of
the cultural aspects that may have facilitated the existence and growth of the current condition. In
some cases, culture plays a role in the development of psychological conditions later in life. For

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instance, gender role is a significant cultural aspect that may shape the success of a person in life.
If a female child is raised in a cultural background where females are believed to be destined to
be wives and do not need education, the child is likely to develop psychological conditions in the
future and regard herself as a failure in life due to illiteracy. Therefore, understanding the cultural
backgrounds of patients helps a psychotherapist tailor the therapy sessions to be more applicable
and beneficial to their patients.

Kocabas & Üstündağ-Budak, (2017) explain that the ability to offer validating responses
by a psychotherapist helps to increase the quality and accuracy of personal information shared by
a patient regarding the causating factors of a generalized anxiety disorder. Validating responses,
according to Kocabas & Üstündağ-Budak, (2017), are non-judgmental and are supposed to
ensure that a psychotherapist has enough understanding of the information that a patient shares
regarding a generalized anxiety disorder (Kocabas & Üstündağ-Budak, 2017). For instance, a
validating response could be provided in the form of a statement such as ‘I need to ensure that I
get that part correctly.’ The effectiveness of these validating statements helps to increase the
accuracy of the treatment plans initiated by the psychotherapist.

Genuineness

Genuineness in Person-Centered Therapy is evaluated by the ability of a psychotherapist
to be non-judgmental and authentic in the process of designing a treatment plan for a patient
suffering from a generalized anxiety disorder. In research conducted by Greene (2017),
genuineness is required in building rapport by a psychotherapist to increase the strength of the
therapeutic relationship between the patient and the psychotherapist. Greene (2017) details that
the higher the levels of genuineness by a psychotherapist, the higher the ability of a patient to

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offer truthful information regarding how the patient is feeling and the factors that led to the
current behavior (Greene, 2017). While genuineness is a general concept, there are a number of
factors that can be used to determine whether or not a psychotherapist is genuine in offering
therapeutic services to a patient. Some of these factors include non-verbal behaviors, role
behavior, congruence, and spontaneity.

In terms of non-verbal behavior, the genuineness of a psychotherapist can be evaluated in
terms of eye contact, offering full attention, and nodding by the psychotherapist to ensure that the
behavior is in agreement with the current events in the conversation between the patient and the
therapist. For instance, a psychotherapist should not smile when a patient is explaining how sad
it was to be abused as a child. In role behavior, Moreira & Souza (2017) explain that in the
process of interactions between a patient and a psychotherapist, the psychotherapist should play
the role of a partner and should not take a role that shows him or her as being superior to the
patient (Moreira & Souza, 2017). This aspect makes a patient offer more information and
increases the effectiveness of the treatment plan for the generalized anxiety disorder. In relation
to congruence, the non-verbal behavior of the psychotherapist, the feelings, and the words
uttered should match. In an event where there is a congruence of these three factors, the
effectiveness of the entire treatment process increases. In relation to spontaneity, the feedback
and responses provided by a psychotherapist in a spontaneous manner help in increasing the
levels of trust between the patient and the psychotherapist. In this case, if a psychotherapist
responds immediately after some information has been provided by the patient, the patient has
increased levels of trust in the therapist and is likely to be positively impacted by the treatment.

Positive regard

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Positive regard is the ability to show respect and commitment by psychotherapists to
patients. Research by Ioane & Tudor (2017) details that positive regard can be seen through
commitment and having a non-judgmental attitude by the psychotherapist when dealing with the
patient (Ioane & Tudor, 2017). The researchers explain that high levels of positive regard help
eliminate the personal bias that a psychotherapist may have and helps in designing an ideal
treatment plan for the patient suffering from a generalized anxiety disorder and other disorders.

Efficacy and effectiveness of research

In order to execute a therapeutic change, there is a need to evaluate the levels of efficacy
and the levels of effectiveness of the intervention methods being considered. In evaluating the
efficacy levels, the major consideration is the ability of the therapeutic change process to produce
the results that are expected under normal circumstances. In this efficacy evaluation, the aim is to
determine whether the treatment plans used for patients suffering from a generalized anxiety
disorder can help eliminate the prevalence of the disorder and the effects of the disease on the
patients. The levels of effectiveness can be evaluated in terms of the extent to which a sample
treatment method can be used to produce a beneficial effect in consideration of generalized
anxiety disorder. This section focuses on existing research to show the levels of efficacy and
effectiveness of therapeutic change in relation to generalized anxiety disorder as the disease
under consideration.

Efficacy Research

Research shows that the use of psychotherapy has more than 80% ability to provide the
required results in terms of eliminating the existing psychological conditions such as generalized
anxiety disorder. Esbjørn et al. (2018) conducted research on the use of psychotherapy in treating

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generalized anxiety disorder as the primary disorder. 44 participants were provided with
questionnaires to fill in their feelings regarding their primary causes of the generalized anxiety
disorder (Esbjørn et al., 2018). The participants were then subjected to relevant interventions
using psychotherapy, and the results showed that 86.4% of the participants did not have the
condition after the treatment. Since efficacy studies focus on the ability of an intervention to
produce the required results, the intervention showed that there exists a significantly high
possibility (86.4%) that the use of psychotherapy can be used to treat generalized anxiety
disorder.

In further research conducted by Guo et al., (2017), an 8-week positive program for
psychotherapy has high levels of effectiveness in treating various psychological conditions such
as generalized anxiety disorder, stress and depression. In the research, a group of 76 nursing
students were exposed to an 8-week program that aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the
psychotherapy session in treating the disorders (Guo et al., 2017). Of the 76 participants, 34 were
in the group under the experiment, while the remaining 42 were in the control group. After the
program, all the participants showed no signs of the primary psychological disorders that they
were suffering from at the beginning of the program. The research, therefore, shows that in the
use of a psychotherapy session to treat generalized anxiety disorder as the main condition a
patient is suffering from, the obtained results are expected to be highly positive. In this case, it is
expected that under normal circumstances, there will be no symptoms of generalized anxiety
disorder in the patient at the end of the duration under which the patient is put under treatment.

The results found in relation to the efficacy of psychotherapy and, in particular, the use of
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating generalized anxiety disorder show that CBT

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should be applied in most healthcare facilities to promote positive outcomes. In the application
of CBT as the main treatment method for psychological conditions in healthcare facilities,
patients should be observed to ensure that they are not exposed to triggers that may make them
increase the effects of generalized anxiety disorder and other psychological disorders.

Effectiveness research

The levels of effectiveness of CBT can be measured in terms of the ability of the CBT
sessions to reduce or eliminate the prevalence of the disorders under consideration, such as the
ability to reduce or eliminate the generalized anxiety disorder. Kaczkurkin & Foa (2022) found
that cognitive behavioral therapy is made effective if the exposure to therapy is done for a
duration that is considered enough by medical experts to produce the expected results (.
Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2022). In this case, the researchers also found out that the effectiveness of
psychotherapy sessions, such as the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, depends on the levels of
extremity of the psychological condition that the patient is suffering from and the willingness of
the patient to undergo the required forms of psychological treatment for better results.
Additionally, McAleavey et al. (2019) found out that routine psychotherapy affects the levels of
effectiveness of psychotherapy sessions that patients with various psychological disorders enroll
in. In this case, the research found that patients who usually follow the required routines have a
high possibility of attaining positive results from these psychotherapy sessions compared to
patients who may not follow the required routines effectively (McAleavey et al., 2019). An
evaluation of the ability to follow the required routine can be evaluated in terms of a number of
aspects, including the willingness of a patient to follow all the required psychotherapy sessions
and avoid the triggers of psychological diseases.

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Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and CBT to fulfill human needs

Abraham Maslow explained that human beings have varying needs but constantly work
towards fulfilling these needs. The needs are classified into physiological, safety, love, esteem
and self-actualization needs (Hopper, 2020). The model designed by Maslow to show the
usefulness of these needs and the relationship between them shows that one needs to fulfill the
needs that lie at the bottom of the pyramid before working on the needs that are higher on the
pyramid of needs. For instance, food and water are classified by the model as basic needs, while
intimate relationships and friendships are classified as psychological needs. Therefore, the model
by Maslow explains that one cannot seek intimacy and friendships before seeking food and water
and other basic needs. The model for the hierarchy of needs is as appears below,

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The chart shows that since change is a process, there is no way a person will achieve the
self-fulfillment needs in life without having met the psychological needs. In this case, self-
fulfillment needs may exist in the form of acquiring talents, acquiring higher levels of education
or learning a new language. In relation to the use of cognitive behavioral therapy to design a
treatment plan for patients suffering from a generalized anxiety disorder, the interventions can be
classified as being effective in ensuring that patients meet their other needs that lie higher on the
hierarchy of needs. The higher the efficacy levels of CBT in treating generalized anxiety disorder
in a patient, the higher the levels of psychosocial health in the patient.

Critiques to the use of CBT in treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder

There are a number of strengths and weaknesses associated with the use of cognitive
behavioral therapy as a mode of treatment for generalized anxiety disorder. This section analyzes
these strengths and weaknesses and provides a guideline that could be used by psychotherapists
to ensure that high-quality results are obtained in psychotherapy sessions regardless of the
weaknesses associated with this method.

Strengths

The use of CBT has a lot of evidence-based research that shows that the method is
effective in solving psychological needs in patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy has a strength
in the fact that research has proved that the method is effective. Additionally, another strength of
this method is that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy is sometimes as effective as the use of
medication. In some instances, the use of CBT has been associated with higher levels of success
than the use of various forms of medication. Additionally, a strength of using cognitive
behavioral therapy exists in the fact that cognitive behavioral therapy can be provided to both

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individuals and groups (The CBT Clinic, 2020). For instance, a group of persons suffering from
generalized anxiety disorder can be made to undergo an intervention that will reduce the
prevalence and effects of the disorder. There is also a strength in the use of CBT in that the steps
used in cognitive behavioral therapy are practical and can be applied later in life after treatment
has been achieved. For instance, the use of CBT can be used to control the thoughts of an
individual to minimize the prevalence of other psychological disorders in the future.

Weaknesses of using CBT

The major weakness of using cognitive behavioral therapy is that the patient suffering
from a psychological disorder needs to commit himself or herself to the treatment process to
ensure increased accuracy and reliability of results. Additionally, it is significantly hard for a
person to attend CBT sessions regularly and to complete any homework that may be given by the
psychotherapist in the process of cognitive behavioral therapy. Further, a weakness of CBT exists
in the fact that the therapy involves the confrontation of one’s emotions, and in most cases, the
feeling is not good. In this case, some people are unable to confront and overcome their
emotions, leading to the failure of CBT to address some of the psychological disorders that some
patients may be suffering from (The CBT Clinic, 2020). Finally, cognitive behavioral therapy
addresses the problems that individuals face and may not address the prevailing conditions that
may lead to a re-emergence of the psychological condition. For instance, if a person attends CBT
sessions and is treated for generalized anxiety disorder and the family members are not included
in the CBT sessions, there is a likelihood that the family may expose the patient to the
generalized anxiety disorder in the future.

Ideal conditions for using CBT

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CBT should be used in the event that a patient is willing to undergo the therapy sessions
and complete them in time. In addition, CBT should be used for patients who have the ability to
confront their emotions without feeling uncomfortable with the aim of achieving positive
psychological health outcomes. Further, if the conditions that increase the negative effects of
CBT originate from friends and close family members, the therapy sessions should include these
persons to ensure that positive results are obtained.

Sample treatment plan

Stefan et al. (2019) explain that a sample treatment plan for generalized anxiety disorder
using cognitive behavioral therapy should be made of a number of sessions that have specific
content to be handled in each session (Stefan et al., 2019). In addition, the treatment plan should
be made of sessions that have equal durations that ensure that patients are provided therapy in
sessions that can be easy to manage. The following chart shows a sample treatment plan that is
made of 8 sessions, with each session going for 3 hours. Each session also has unique content
that is intended to be covered by the psychotherapist in the process of treating generalized
anxiety disorder using CBT.

CBT session for Generalized
Anxiety Disorder
Session Duration Contents to be covered in
the session
1 3 hours • Orientation of the
patient to cognitive
behavioral therapy.

• Determining the
causes of generalized
anxiety disorder and
the causes.

• Setting initial targets
for the entire CBT
session.

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2 3 hours • Assessment of the
patient's concerns to
determine the accurate
interventions.

• Begin intervention
techniques such as
simple exercises.
3 3 hours • Continue with talk
therapy as an
intervention. The
patient opens up to the
psychotherapist about
the causes of the
anxiety and the current
feeling.
4 3 hours • Continue with
interventions: The
psychotherapist
assesses the cultural
background to the
problems being faced
by the patient and
engages the patient in
the process of
reframing thoughts
that are intrusive to
minimize negative
outcomes of the
generalized anxiety
disorder.
5 3 hours • Re-assessing CBT
goals by the
psychotherapist to
ensure that the
sessions are going on
as intended.

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The sample treatment plan shows that the psychotherapist has to address the causes of the
generalized disorder, the possible existing symptoms, and external triggers in order to design
effective mechanisms that can be used to eliminate the negative effects of the generalized anxiety
6 3 hours • Continue with
interventions: Guided
muscle relaxation.
This relaxation of
muscles helps patients
with generalized
anxiety disorder to
relax the tension in the
muscles since the
natural body reaction
to anxiety is an
increase in muscle
tension.
7 3 hours • Continued
intervention: Guide the
patient on how to get
enough sleep. Getting
enough sleep is one of
the effective
mechanisms for
reducing anxiety and
psychological
disorders.
8 3 hours Final intervention: Advising
the patient on how to avoid
external triggers. External
factors that may trigger
generalized anxiety disorder
may include friends and
family members, and avoiding
them would help to minimize
the prevalence and effects of
the disorder.

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disorder. In terms of the causes, the psychotherapist may address the cultural background of the
patient before orienting the patient to the treatment therapy. Additionally, the symptoms can be
solved using the interventions that the psychotherapist finds as effective depending on the cause
of the generalized anxiety disorder and the current levels of prevalence of the disorder. In the
final session of the sample treatment plan, the psychotherapist advises the patient on the
mechanisms that can be used to eliminate the possibility of suffering from generalized anxiety
disorder.

Assessing change

The effectiveness of the use of cognitive behavioral therapy in assessing generalized
anxiety disorder and its effects can be assessed using the presence or absence of symptoms after
the interventions. In this case, the prevalence of the symptoms after the interventions means that
the CBT mechanism would not be effective, while the absence of symptoms would show a high
level of effectiveness of CBT in treating generalized anxiety disorder. Additionally, change will
be assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, which is used to measure the levels of anxiety in
an individual (Zimmerman et al., 2017). The Hamilton scale has mechanisms of interpretation to
show the severity of the symptoms. In the use of the scale, a score ranging from 0 to 7 means that
the anxiety levels are normal or there is no anxiety, a score of 8-10 means that there are mild
levels of anxiety in the patient. Further, a score of 11-14 means that there are high levels of
anxiety in a patient, while a score of 12-21 means that the levels of anxiety in the patient are
extremely high. Therefore, the assessment of the change will be done using the scale in that
when the scale shows low levels of anxiety, it will be interpreted to mean that there are high
levels of effectiveness in the interventions.

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Conclusion

This report focused on a change model that can be used to treat patients suffering from
generalized anxiety disorder using cognitive behavioral therapy. In the report, change is
evaluated using the ability of a patient to have reduced or no prevalence of symptoms of
generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talk therapy used to
alleviate pain and suffering in a patient to ensure that the patient has an improved quality of life.
The report used a person-centered approach where the strength of the relationship between a
patient and a psychotherapist is addressed. Further, the approach is dependent on a number of
conditions, including empathy, genuineness, and positive regard. The research used peer-
reviewed journal articles to ensure that the information used was highly accurate and that the
results have high levels of reliability. A Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model was used to define
the various psychological needs that a patient who needs a cognitive behavioral therapy might
have, and a sample treatment plan was used to show how the treatment for a patient suffering
from a generalized anxiety disorder may be tailored. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale was identified
as the ideal mechanism that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions used to
treat generalized anxiety disorder. In the use of this scale, the levels of the score of a patient after
the interventions can be used to determine the effectiveness of the interventions used to treat the
generalized anxiety disorder.

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