Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Practice Briefs

Contributor: Alan M. Schwitzer

GAD is one of 11 major diagnosable anxiety disorders included in the DSM-IV-TR categorically-based system of classifying mental disorders (APA, 2000).
“GAD is categorized by at least 6 months of persistent and excessive anxiety and worry” (APA, 2000; p. 429).
The prominent features of GAD are: “excessive worry or undue anxiety about multiple life events or situations at a level that causes clinically significant distress or interferes with social or occupational functioning or other important life roles; [having] difficulty controlling the worry; and [experiencing] several characteristic symptoms such as restlessness, fatigue, difficulty thinking or concentrating, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep difficulty” (ACA, 2009; p.26).

Schwitzer, A. M. (2016, August). Generalized anxiety disorder [Practice Brief]. Counseling Nexus. https://doi.org/10.63134/BQYU2920

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