Researchers conducted a small but significant study involving the effectiveness of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP) and applied relaxation training (ART).
The Participants
The study participants included 49 adults, ages 18 to 55, with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder. All participants were assigned a treatment of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy or applied relaxation training in two weekly sessions for 12 weeks. The PFPP group consisted of 26 participants, and the ART group had 23 members.
The Results
The researchers found that participants receiving panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy had significant reductions in the severity of panic symptoms when compared with the applied relaxation training group. Based on objective measurements, the PFPP group had a substantially better response to treatment (73%) when compared to the ART group (39%) at the conclusion of the study.
The Conclusions
Like many studies of its kind, the conclusions of the researchers are not definitive. This is a small study that compared psychodynamic psychotherapy to applied relaxation training. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been the standard of treatment for panic disorder, but was not compared in this study. Not all individuals, though, respond to CBT and adding a supported therapeutic approach to treatment will, undoubtedly, be beneficial to many sufferers. This study has demonstrated that PFPP shows promising effectiveness and that future studies are warranted.
Source:
Barbara Milrod, M.D., Andrew C. Leon, Ph.D., Fredric Busch, M.D., Marie Rudden, M.D., Michael Schwalberg, Ph.D., John Clarkin, Ph.D., Andrew Aronson, M.D., Meriamne Singer, M.D., Wendy Turchin, M.D., E. Toby Klass, Ph.D., Elizabeth Graf, B.A., Jed J. Teres, B.A., and M. Katherine Shear, M.D. “A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Panic Disorder.” American Journal of Psychiatry. 164:265-272. February 2007.
