Anxiety and adjustment disorder: a treatment approach.

Adjustment disorder with anxious mood can be difficult to differentiate from other anxiety disorders or personality disorders. Particular care must be taken to distinguish between the reasonable, expected response to psychosocial stressors and the inordinate response that may indicate the diagnosis of adjustment disorder. Once the diagnosis has been established, options for the management of these patients include nonpharmacologic approaches, pharmacotherapy, and combinations of both. The ultimate goals of treatment are to mobilize the patient's stress-coping mechanisms and to prevent the adjustment disorder from developing into another, more chronic condition, such as generalized anxiety disorder.