Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic and brief therapist contact in the treatment of panic disorder

• Published in: Journal of anxiety disorders Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 111 - 126
• Main Authors: Hecker, Jeffrey E., Losee, Melinda C., Roberson-Nay, Roxann, Maki, Kristin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Ltd 2004; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - therapy; Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Cognitive Therapy - methods; Cognitive-behavior therapy; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Panic; Panic disorder; Panic Disorder - diagnosis; Panic Disorder - therapy; Personality Inventory; Predictive Value of Tests; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy, Brief - methods; Self Efficacy; Self-help; Treatments; Cognitive-behavior therapy; Panic; Self-help; Anxiety; Panic disorder; Human; Cognitive therapy; Psychological counseling; Treatment efficiency; Anxiety disorder; Social adjustment; Conversation; Group psychotherapy; Symptomatology; Treatment; Follow up study; Telephone call; Behavior therapy; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0887-6185; 1873-7897
• DOI: 10.1016/S0887-6185(02)00241-4

Twenty-eight individuals with panic disorder were provided with a copy of
Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic II [Barlow, D. H., & Craske, M. G. (1994).
Mastery of your anxiety and panic (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation] and received either four sessions of group cognitive-behavior therapy (Group) or one meeting with a therapist plus three telephone contacts (Telephone). Between group repeated measures analyses revealed significant improvement over the course of treatment and maintenance of gains over the follow-up period with few treatment by trials interactions. A higher percentage of participants in the Telephone condition achieved high end-state functioning status at posttreatment compared to those who participated in group CBT (72% vs. 24%), but this difference disappeared at 6 months posttreatment (45% vs. 55%). Participants with characteristics of either borderline, dependent, or depressive personality disorders, as assessed by the MCMI-III, were unlikely to achieve high end-state functioning status at posttreatment. Trends in the data suggest that participants who met criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia, and those with comorbid generalized anxiety disorder, were also less likely to achieve clinically significant outcome. These findings add to the growing literature indicating that self-directed treatment with brief therapist contact is a viable option for many people with panic disorder. Furthermore, the study provides preliminary data suggesting that certain comorbid conditions negatively impact self-directed treatment outcome.