COMPARISON OF PALMTOP-COMPUTER-ASSISTED BRIEF COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT TO COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR PANIC DISORDER

In the present study, the authors sought to determine whether the effi ciency and cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for panic disorder could be improved by adjunctive computer-assisted t herapy. Eighteen participants who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manua l of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., revised; American Psychiatric Associat ion, 1987) criteria for panic disorder were randomly assigned to a 12- session CBT (CBT12) condition (D. H. Barlow & M. G. Craske, 1989) or t o a 4-session computer-assisted CBT (CBT4-CA) condition. Palmtop compu ters, with a program developed to incorporate basic principles of CBT, were used by CBT4-CA clients whenever they felt anxious or wanted to practice the therapy techniques and were used by all participants as a momentary assessment tool. CBT4-CA clients carried the computer at al l times and continued to use it for 8 weeks after termination of thera py. Analyses of clinically significant change showed superiority of CB T12 at posttest on some measures; however, there were no differences a t follow-up.