Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a chronic mental illness that affects 5% of Canadians. It is the most frequent disorder present in primary care settings and is associated with a major economic burden from increased utilization of health services and decreased work productivity. The most effective treatment available for GAD is 12-16 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy; however 36-57% of of individuals with GAD do not significantly improve during treatment. Research in the past decades has shown that individuals with GAD tend to have difficulties shifting their attention away from emotional topics and back to the task at hand. Attention Training Therapy (ATT) was designed by Adrian Wells to help individuals gain control over their attention by having them focus, shift and divide their attention to a variety of sounds while treating any intrusive thoughts as "noise." The sessions can be delivered through an audio recording or an online platform. Initial evidence indicates that just 12 minutes of practice per day leads to large decreases in intrusive thoughts, depression symptoms, and frequency of panic attacks; however its use has never been examined in a population with GAD. ATT is a promising treatment for GAD because it encourages people to disengage from worrying and to turn their attention outward. The portability, affordability and ease of administration of ATT make it especially compelling. This project will examine whether or not ATT is able to improve attentional control in individuals with GAD, and will examine changes in worry following the therapy, as compared to an active control condition.