Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Neurofeedback for Reducing Symptoms of Anxiety

Background and objectives: Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders that can cause functional impairment, which necessitates development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and neurofeedback in reducing symptoms of anxiety. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. Study population included 24 students with anxiety disorders who were referred to the psychological consultation center at Payame Noor University, Torbat-e Jam (Iran) in 2018. The subjects were selected based on psychiatric interview and the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. They were randomly divided into two groups: the first group received 10 weekly 90-minute sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy, while the second group received 10 weekly 30-minute sessions of neurofeedback. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20) at significance level of 0.05. Results: The groups were matched in terms of age and education level. The mean pretest score of anxiety did not differ significantly between the groups (P=0.01). After the intervention, the mean score of anxiety decreased significantly in the cognitive-behavioral therapy group (P=0.001) and in the neurofeedback group (P=0.0001). There was a significant difference between the effects of neurofeedback and cognitive-behavioral group therapy (P = 0.012). Conclusion: Our results suggest that both cognitive-behavioral therapy and neurofeedback can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety in students. However, the effectiveness of neurofeedback is significantly higher than that of cognitive-behavioral therapy in reducing the symptoms of anxiety.