A COMPARISON OF BIBLIOTHERAPY AND GROUP-THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF PANIC DISORDER

This study investigated 2 methods of disseminating a cognitive-behavio ral intervention for panic disorder (PD). Thirty-six Ss who met diagno stic criteria for PD according to the Anxiety Disorders Interview Sche dule-Revised were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: bibliotherap y (BT), group therapy (GT), or a waiting-list control (WL) condition. Interventions lasted 8 weeks and were followed by a posttest, along wi th 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. Results indicated that both t he BT and GT treatments were more effective than the WL condition in r educing frequency of panic attacks, severity of physical panic symptom s, catastrophic cognitions, agoraphobic avoidance, and depression and that the BT and GT treatments were more effective in increasing self-e fficacy. Both interventions maintained their effects throughout the fo llow-up periods and produced clinically significant levels of change a mong the majority of treated Ss.