Psychodynamic Therapy: Easing Panic Disorder

A randomized controlled study, just published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, evaluated the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy as compared to applied relaxation training. Over 5 years, researchers recruited 49 adults ages 18–55 with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. All subjects received psychodynamic psychotherapy or applied relaxation training twice a week for 12 weeks. The Panic Disorder Severity Scale was the primary outcome measure. Subjects who received psychodynamic psychotherapy represented “significantly greater reduction in severity of panic symptoms,” and were more likely to respond at treatment termination than the applied relaxation cohort (73% versus 39%). http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/2/265

-LS