Therapy and Medication Combination Effective for Panic Disorder

A combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication may be a more effective treatment for panic disorder than those treatments often provided by primary care physicians, according to a study presented in the March 2005 Archives of General Psychiatry. The results show the importance of steering patients toward the right specialists for both therapy and appropriate medications.

Participants in the research study were assigned to one of two kinds of treatment:

• Medication and counseling in a primary care setting, once the diagnosis of panic disorder was made; or
• A six-session, three-month course of CBT that also included six telephone follow-ups over nine months. Additionally, medication was prescribed by the primary care physician in consultation with a psychiatrist.

The study took place at the University of Washington School of Medicine at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, and 232 adults with panic disorder participated.

The participants who received the CBT and medication combination showed considerable improvement in comparison with those receiving the usual treatment:

• At 3 months, 20 percent of the CBT-medication group showed minimal anticipatory anxiety and a low level of agoraphobia versus 12 percent in the other group. At twelve months, these numbers increased to 29 percent in the CBT-medication group versus 16 percent in the other.

• Levels of anxiety decreased significantly for 46 percent of the CBT-medication group at 3 months versus 27 percent in the other groups. At 12 months, it was 63 percent versus 38 percent.

The researchers did note that there was a problem for "many" of the patients in adhering to the CBT program.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association news release