While there has been burgeoning interest in the psychiatric literature
about the phenomenology and biology of panic disorder, there is littl
e new information about the psychodynamics of this condition. The rein
troduction of a psychodynamic perspective could be useful in guiding r
esearch strategies to identify traits which predispose to panic and in
designing treatments to address such traits. A psychodynamic model hy
pothesizes a relationship between current psychological functioning, e
arly experiences, and ongoing psychological traits. Recent published r
eports about the nature of underlying psychodynamics and psychological
characteristics of panic disorder ate discussed.