The efficacy of art therapy or CBT Research Proposal

The efficacy of art therapy or CBT - Research Proposal Example Participants are to be selected through random sampling. The research procedure to be used will be experimental, with a control group whose serotonin levels, heart rate and other measures will be tested before and after the test using a t-test. This will be supplemented with survey questionnaires and the hypothesis will be rejected at 0.05. Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychiatric condition that is associated with anxiety about one’s body image, especially common in female teenagers and young women. The patient obsesses about a perceived defect and assumes that it makes her look very ugly, while this might not be the case because the patient might actually look quite normal. One of the problems associated with this is that the condition is associated with extreme levels of anxiety that might even deteriorate to the point where it translated into acute depression. In a meta-analytic review of cognitive behavioural interventions which have been used in treating anxiety and depression, Smits et al (2008) found that the use of CBT had been found to be efficacious in the treatment of anxiety; as a result, it may also be possible to apply it effectively in treating the anxiety associated with body dysmorphic disorder in females. It must be pointed out however, that while there are some studies which have been carried out on CBT and its efficacy in alleviating anxiety in general, the results are not conclusive enough to be applied on a generalized basis. The problem which arises in this context is: can CBT be applied specifically in the context of 18 to 21 year old females who are suffering from anxiety associated with body dysmorphic disorder, in order to alleviate such anxieties? Body dysmorphic disorder is a relatively severe psychiatric disorder wherein patients who have it appear to think they look ugly or deformed although in reality, they may be quite normal