Psychiatry
OTHER
Group therapy for student anxiety shows promising results in small, early study
Frontiers in Medicine
Published April 1, 2026
Researchers tested whether group metacognitive therapy could help students with anxiety. The therapy focuses on changing unhelpful thinking patterns about worry itself. The study involved students at a university clinic in Oslo who had anxiety disorders or high anxiety scores. They received the group therapy as part of routine care.
After treatment, students reported large reductions in their anxiety, worry, and depressive symptoms. Their negative beliefs about worrying also decreased. About 77% of participants showed improvement or recovery. These benefits were still present when checked three months later.
No safety issues were reported, but the study did not specifically track side effects. The main reason for caution is the study's design. It was small, took place at only one clinic, and had no comparison group to show if the therapy itself caused the improvements or if other factors were involved.
This research suggests this type of group therapy might be helpful for students in similar settings. However, because it's an early study with limitations, the results should be seen as promising but not yet definitive. More research with stronger designs is needed to confirm the findings.
View Original Abstract ↓
BackgroundGroup-based Metacognitive Therapy (gMCT) has shown promising results for anxiety, but research specifically targeting student populations is limited. By addressing maladaptive metacognitions, gMCT aims to reduce core symptoms such as anxiety, excessive worry, and rumination. More research is needed in university settings to determine whether gMCT can be successfully applied to students. Method: We investigated the feasibility and examined a gMCT treatment course with an uncontrolled pre-post design with a 3-month booster follow-up. The design reflects the available data material and the limitations of the real-world clinic setting. Participants were students with a score >=10 on GAD-7 assessment, or diagnosed with anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), and Panic Disorder (PD). Patients presenting with additional conditions that would necessitate alternative interventions/treatment were excluded and not eligible for this study. The generic MCT treatment model was delivered as part of routine care by therapists at the Oslo Student Welfare Organization (SiO Helse) who had relevant MCT training. Data material was collected at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and booster follow-ups. Feasibility was assessed using attendance, dropout, and number of completers. Missing data were handled using multilevel modelling and mean imputation at the item level. The primary outcome was GAD-7, and depressive symptoms (secondary outcome) with the PHQ-9. Worry and Metacognitive beliefs were assessed. Analyses included paired sample t-tests, clinically significant change analysis, and multilevel modelling (MLM) to evaluate change over time.ResultsTreatment adherence was high, with participants attending an average of 7.1 out of 8 sessions. Significant reductions were observed across all measures from pre- to post-assessment, with large effect sizes for the primary outcome (GAD-7) and for worry (CAS-1), negative metacognitions (MCQ-30), and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9). These improvements were maintained at the 3-month booster follow-up.ConclusiongMCT is feasible for treating student populations with anxiety and depression symptoms. Overall, 77.3% of participants improved or recovered after post-assessment. The results should be cautiously interpreted due to the single-site setting, few patients and short follow-up period, but suggest that other student welfare organizations may benefit from implementing gMCT to treat anxiety- and worry-related problems in student populations.
