EMDR for panic disorder with agoraphobia: Comparison with waiting list andcredible attention-placebo control conditions

In a randomized controlled trial, eye movement desensitization and reproces sing (EMDR) for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) was compared with bot h waiting list and credible attention-placebo control groups. EMDR was sign ificantly better than waiting list for some outcome measures (questionnaire , diary, and interview measures of severity of anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia) but not for others (panic attack frequency and anxious cognit ions). However, low power and, for panic frequency, floor effects may accou nt for these negative results. Differences between EMDR and the attention p lacebo control condition were not statistically significant on-any measure, and, in this case, the effect sizes were generally small (eta (2) = .00-.0 6), suggesting the poor results for EMDR were not due to lack of power. Bec ause there are established effective treatments such as cognitive-behavior therapy for PDA, these data, unless contradicted by future research, indica te EMDR should not be the first-line treatment for this disorder.