COGNITIVE TREATMENT FOR PANIC DISORDER

Several kinds of evidence indicate that there are important psychologi cal causes of panic disorder as well as the biological causes that hav e been demonstrated by others. These psychological causes are fears th at physical symptoms of anxiety will be followed by an immediate medic al emergency: for example, that palpitations will be followed by a hea rt attack. Evidence is presented to show (a) that such fears are more frequent among panic disorder patients than other anxious patients; (b ) that activating the fears can produce panic; and (c) that reducing t he fears can attenuate the effects of procedures that produce panic. F or panic disorder, cognitive therapy, which reduces these specific fea rs, gives results comparable to those of imipramine and alprazolam. If further research confirms that these therapeutic effects of cognitive therapy are sustained well beyond the end of treatment, cognitive the rapy could be the treatment of choice for panic disorder.