EYE-MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION AND REPROCESSING TREATMENT FOR PANIC DISORDER - A CONTROLLED OUTCOME AND PARTIAL DISMANTLING STUDY

Forty-three outpatients with DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Man ual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Ed., revised; American Psychiatric Associ ation, 1987) panic disorder were randomly assigned to receive 6 sessio ns of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), the same t reatment but omitting the eye movement, or to a waiting list. Posttest comparisons showed EMDR to be more effective in alleviating panic and panic-related symptoms than the waiting-list procedure. Compared with the same treatment without the eye movement, EMDR led to greater impr ovement on 2 of 5 primary outcome measures at posttest. However, EMDR' s advantages had dissipated 3 months after treatment, thereby failing to firmly support the usefulness of the eye movement component in EMDR treatment for panic disorder.