Evaluation of a novel anxiety and trauma intervention at the Edinburgh Fringe

Background Anxiety and psychological trauma are common presentations in general practice and may lead to long-term prescribing and/or time-consuming talking therapies.

Aim To assess the efficacy and acceptability of short ‘Gazetherapy’ interventions.

Method ‘The Anxiety Experiment’ was delivered as a show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 1–25 August 2019. Gazetherapy interventions were explained using props to describe polyvagal theory and cranial nerve and cerebellar/hippocampus anatomy and function. BabyGaze (reducing anxiety in the moment), da Vinci Gaze (attenuating stress), and Accessory Gaze (resolving simple trauma) were delivered to audiences of between six and 51 people during <10 minutes of the 50-minute presentation. Subjects were given a card bearing a QR code to link to an online survey containing validated short screening questionnaires: GAD-2 for probable anxiety disorder and PC-PTSD for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Results Efficacy: 73 (9.8%) attendees completed the survey, of whom 39% screened positive for anxiety and 26% screened positive for PTSD. Those screening negative in both tests (52%) were designated a control group, with 36% of them feeling better after the presentation. Fifty-nine per cent of probable anxiety ‘cases’ and 68% of probable PTSD cases felt better after the presentation; none felt worse. Acceptability: 95% reported a ‘definite’ or ‘probable’ intent to use the techniques in the future, with 5% (all non-cases) stating that they probably would not. No responder said they would definitely not use the techniques.

Conclusion The acceptability and effectiveness of a new therapeutic approach were demonstrated by presenting them in a show at the Edinburgh Fringe.