Cognitive behavior therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia in videoconference: Preliminary results

Many studies have shown the feasibility of psychiatric consultation in tele health, and some have addressed the effectiveness of telepsychotherapy. How ever, outcome studies on telepsychiatry essentially amount to a few case st udies, none of which have used an empirically validated psychosocial treatm ent to treat a specific mental disorder. This article presents the prelimin ary results of an outcome study on the effectiveness of telepsychotherapy f or panic disorder with agoraphobia. Participants received 12 sessions of co gnitive-behavior therapy, which is an empirically validated treatment for p anic disorder with agoraphobia. The treatment was delivered via videoconfer ence by trained therapists according to a standardized treatment manual. Th e remote site was located at 130 km north of the local site and both were l inked by six ISDN lines. Telepsychotherapy demonstrated statistically and c linically significant improvements on measures of target symptoms (frequenc y, of panic attacks, panic apprehension, severity of panic disorder, percei ved self-efficacy) and measures of global functioning (trait anxiety, gener al improvement). Of interest was the fact that a very good therapeutic alli ance was built after only the first telepsychotherapy session. Factors that may reduce the effectiveness of telepsychotherapy are discussed.