Background: Generalized Anxiety Disorder is one of the most common psychological disorders in adulthood. Various treatments including neurofeedback have been suggested for this disorder. But neurofeedback is still unclear as an independent or adjunctive therapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. In addition, so far no study has been done to determine the effectiveness of neurofeedback on reducing the physical and psychological signs and symptoms of anxiety separately, and changes in perception of time as a result of this treatment.
Aim: The aim of this study was to study the effectiveness of neurofeedback on reducing the physical and psychological signs and symptoms of anxiety and time perception in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.
Methodology: This research was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of the present study included all individuals in the age group between 18 and 50 years with generalized anxiety disorder, who had referred to the relevant centers in Bushehr and Genaveh ports in 1399. Among the volunteers who were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder through questionnaires, clinical interviews, and brainwave assessments, 27 were selected as the sample, then randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, Four Systems Anxiety Questionnaire (FSAQ) and time reproduction task software (short time reproduction and long time reproduction) were used to collect data. The experimental group underwent 20 sessions of treatment 3 times a week, each session lasting fifty minutes. The obtained data were analyzed by analysis of covariance.
Conclusions: Neurofeedback has a significant effect on reducing the specific signs and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, general signs and symptoms of anxiety and all physical and psychological signs and symptoms (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) anxiety separately. In