New study: "Talk therapy works for panic disorder." According to a recent NY Times article, short-term talk therapy can be very effective in battling panic disorder. From the article:
The researchers tested a pared-down version of analysis tailored specifically for panic attacks, the breathless, paralyzing dread that strikes some 1 percent to 2 percent of people, seemingly out of nowhere. Previous studies had found that other kinds of therapy — including exposure techniques, in which people learn to diffuse their anxieties by facing them one small step at a time — can relieve panic attacks in half to two-thirds of patients, depending on the severity and type of anxiety.
In the new experiment, Dr. Barbara L. Milrod, a psychiatrist at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, led a team of therapists who treated 49 men and women with a variety of anxieties. Some were agoraphobic, unable to ride the subway or visit certain parts of town. Others had symptoms of depression or of personality problems, like a disabling dependency on other people or an avoidance of social situations.
Half of the group received a form of relaxation training, in which they learned how to moderate their arousal by tensing and relaxing specific muscle groups. The other half received psychodynamic therapy, working with their therapist in two weekly sessions to understand the underlying meaning of their symptoms — when the reactions first started and how they might be linked to loss, broken relationships or childhood experiences that unconsciously haunted their current lives.
After 12 weeks, 39 percent of those working with relaxation techniques improved significantly on standard measures of anxiety and reported fewer panic-related problems in their relationships and work. But almost three-quarters of those receiving psychodynamic therapy reported similar benefits.
“This is best response rate I’ve seen in a controlled trial for panic,” Dr. Milrod said.
Can't say I'm surprised by this. I think anything that get panic sufferers to turn and face their anxiety rather than always running from it can empower them to be more successful in coping with their disorder.
New study: "Talk therapy works for panic disorder."
According to a recent NY Times article, short-term talk therapy can be very effective in battling panic disorder. From the article:
Can't say I'm surprised by this. I think anything that get panic sufferers to turn and face their anxiety rather than always running from it can empower them to be more successful in coping with their disorder.