Objective To investigate the effects of high-frequency, short-term group cognitive-behavioral therapy combined with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs on improving clinical symptoms and quality of life in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Methods A total of 90 GAD patients hospitalized at the Second People′s Hospital of Guizhou Province from April 2023 to April 2024 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into two groups using a random number table method, with 45 patients in each group. The intervention group received short-term group cognitive-behavioral therapy along with medication, while the control group only continued with medication. Assessments were conducted using the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) before treatment (baseline) and at 1 and 4 week after treatment.

Results Two cases dropped out in the intervention group, with 43 cases ultimately included, while three cases dropped out in the control group, leaving 42 cases included. After treatment, the intervention group demonstrated superior improvement in anxiety/depressive symptoms compared to the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in the interaction effects between time and group for the HAMA scores and HAMD scores in the two groups (P < 0.05). At week 1 and 4 of treatment, the intervention group had higher scores for bodily pain in SF-36 compared to the control group, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). At week 4 of treatment, the intervention group also scored higher than the control group in terms of physical functioning, role-physical, general health, vitality, role-emotional, and mental health, with all differences being statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion High-frequency short-term group cognitive-behavioral therapy can rapidly improve the acute-phase clinical symptoms of patients with GAD, demonstrating significant clinical application value.