After the acute phase treatment , as long as the drug was continued , the superiority of the combination over either monotherapy appeared to persist .
BACKGROUND Panic disorder can be treated with pharmacotherapy , psychotherapy or in combination , but the relative merits of combined therapy have not been well established .
OBJECTIVES To review evidence concerning short- and long-term advantages and disadvantages of combined psychotherapy plus antidepressant treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia , in comparison with either therapy alone .
Do selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors enhance the efficacy of very brief cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder? A pilot study
Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) and cognitive behavioral therapies ( CBTs ) are both considered as first-line treatments for panic disorder , but the advantages of a combined therapy have yet to be definitively demonstrated . We evaluated in this pilot study the effects of combining SSRIs ( vs. a placebo ) with a very brief form of cognitive-behavioral therapy provided to all participants . Thirty-three subjects with DSM-IV panic disorder , with or without agoraphobia , were r and omized to receive either paroxetine or a placebo with flexible dosing ( 10 - 50 mg/day ) . Medication visits were brief ( 15 min ) , infrequent ( 6 in total ) and non-directive . An expert cognitive-behavior therapist administered one initial 45-min session and one subsequent 30-min session of very brief CBT ( vbCBT ) at weeks 5 and 7 , respectively . Sessions were supplemented with educational and directive reading material s. Patients in both groups ( i.e. vbCBT+paroxetine ; vbCBT+placebo ) improved similarly and substantially on most measures during the 10 weeks of acute treatment . At week 10 , the proportion of panic-free patients was significantly higher in the paroxetine-treated group than in the placebo group ( 80 vs. 25 % ; P<0.007 ) , as was the proportion of subjects who rated themselves as ' very much improved ' at week 10 ( 60 vs. 13 % ; P<0.017 ) . These findings point to the need for additional studies to confirm the effectiveness of very brief forms of CBT , and to document the circumstances in which combined treatment with an SSRI would be warranted
After the acute phase treatment , as long as the drug was continued , the superiority of the combination over either monotherapy appeared to persist .
BACKGROUND Panic disorder can be treated with pharmacotherapy , psychotherapy or in combination , but the relative merits of combined therapy have not been well established .
OBJECTIVES To review evidence concerning short- and long-term advantages and disadvantages of combined psychotherapy plus antidepressant treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia , in comparison with either therapy alone .