This clinical guideline is an update of NICE’s previous guidance on generalised anxiety disorder. It was commissioned by NICE and developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, and sets out clear evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for healthcare professionals on how to treat and manage generalised anxiety disorder in adults.

Around 4.4% of adults in England are affected by generalised anxiety disorder. It can become chronic if it is not treated, often co-occurs with other anxiety and depressive disorders and is associated with substantial disability. This guideline is an indispensable tool in enabling healthcare professionals to identify generalised anxiety disorder and provide the most effective treatments in a stepped-care framework.

This new guideline, which updates all the reviews of the previous guideline, presents and appraises the evidence for low- and high-intensity psychological interventions, drug treatment and other physical interventions, and also provides insight into the experience of care of people with generalised anxiety disorder. An important feature of the new guideline is the economic modelling that was undertaken in the areas of drug treatments and computerised cognitive behavioural therapy.

The guideline also partially updates the NICE Technology Appraisal 97,Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Depression and Anxiety. This update focuses on CCBT for panic disorder only.