Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Background: The effectiveness of psychotherapies for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is typically evaluated using self- A nd clinician-reported symptom change, while biomarkers of treatment response are rarely measured. The current study aimed to compare biomarkers of response following two brief grou...

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Main Authors: Hyett, M., Bank, S., Lipp, Ottmar, Erceg-Hurn, D., Alvares, G., MacLaine, E., Puckridge, E., Hayes, S., McEvoy, Peter
Format: Journal Article
Published: S. Karger AG 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72777
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author Hyett, M.
Bank, S.
Lipp, Ottmar
Erceg-Hurn, D.
Alvares, G.
MacLaine, E.
Puckridge, E.
Hayes, S.
McEvoy, Peter
author_facet Hyett, M.
Bank, S.
Lipp, Ottmar
Erceg-Hurn, D.
Alvares, G.
MacLaine, E.
Puckridge, E.
Hayes, S.
McEvoy, Peter
author_sort Hyett, M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: The effectiveness of psychotherapies for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is typically evaluated using self- A nd clinician-reported symptom change, while biomarkers of treatment response are rarely measured. The current study aimed to compare biomarkers of response following two brief group interventions for SAD. Methods: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of single-session group interventions for SAD (n = 58)-imagery rescripting (IR) and verbal restructuring (VR) versus waitlist control (WC). The IR intervention guided participants to rescript autobiographical memories through visualization whilst the VR intervention focused on thought challenging. Trial outcomes included change in psychophysiological reactivity (heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal responding) to social stress, and symptom-based measures (social interaction anxiety, negative self-portrayal, cognitive avoidance, repetitive negative thinking, memory modification, anxious behaviors). Results: Psychophysiological reactivity was selectively attenuated following IR treatment, compared to VR and WC groups. The specific influence of the imagery-based intervention in modulating autonomic reactivity was evident across HRV parameters, including the standard deviation of intervals between heartbeats (IR vs. WC, d = 0.67, p = 0.021; IR vs. VR, d = 0.58, p = 0.041), and high frequency power- A n indicator of parasympathetically mediated emotion regulation (IR vs. WC, d = 0.75, p = 0.034; IR vs. VR, d = 0.95, p = 0.006). Few group differences were observed across self-report measures. Conclusion: The current study highlights the specificity of brief imagery-based interventions in influencing psychophysiological reactivity in SAD and establishes the sensitivity of objective markers of treatment response in quantifying change over symptom-based measurements.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2018
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-727772020-06-15T03:07:29Z Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial Hyett, M. Bank, S. Lipp, Ottmar Erceg-Hurn, D. Alvares, G. MacLaine, E. Puckridge, E. Hayes, S. McEvoy, Peter Background: The effectiveness of psychotherapies for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is typically evaluated using self- A nd clinician-reported symptom change, while biomarkers of treatment response are rarely measured. The current study aimed to compare biomarkers of response following two brief group interventions for SAD. Methods: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of single-session group interventions for SAD (n = 58)-imagery rescripting (IR) and verbal restructuring (VR) versus waitlist control (WC). The IR intervention guided participants to rescript autobiographical memories through visualization whilst the VR intervention focused on thought challenging. Trial outcomes included change in psychophysiological reactivity (heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal responding) to social stress, and symptom-based measures (social interaction anxiety, negative self-portrayal, cognitive avoidance, repetitive negative thinking, memory modification, anxious behaviors). Results: Psychophysiological reactivity was selectively attenuated following IR treatment, compared to VR and WC groups. The specific influence of the imagery-based intervention in modulating autonomic reactivity was evident across HRV parameters, including the standard deviation of intervals between heartbeats (IR vs. WC, d = 0.67, p = 0.021; IR vs. VR, d = 0.58, p = 0.041), and high frequency power- A n indicator of parasympathetically mediated emotion regulation (IR vs. WC, d = 0.75, p = 0.034; IR vs. VR, d = 0.95, p = 0.006). Few group differences were observed across self-report measures. Conclusion: The current study highlights the specificity of brief imagery-based interventions in influencing psychophysiological reactivity in SAD and establishes the sensitivity of objective markers of treatment response in quantifying change over symptom-based measurements. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72777 10.1159/000493897 S. Karger AG restricted
spellingShingle Hyett, M.
Bank, S.
Lipp, Ottmar
Erceg-Hurn, D.
Alvares, G.
MacLaine, E.
Puckridge, E.
Hayes, S.
McEvoy, Peter
Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title_full Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title_fullStr Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title_full_unstemmed Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title_short Attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial
title_sort attenuated psychophysiological reactivity following single-session group imagery rescripting versus verbal restructuring in social anxiety disorder: results from a randomized controlled trial
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72777