A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows that group Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) can reduce unwanted thoughts, anxiety and stress among women who have recently had breast cancer surgery. For this study, 199 women who had recently had breast cancer surgery were randomly assigned to one of two groups — they received either 10 weeks of group CBT, or a one-day seminar following surgery. The University of Miami, Florida team that conducted the study observed the women for one year, and found that those who had received group CBT had significantly less anxiety, intrusive cancer-related thoughts, emotional distress, and overall life stress than those in the control group. These improvements were maintained during the year post-treatment.