Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy in Panic Disorder patients: The efficacy of CBGT versus drug treatment

Pinhas N. Dannon*, M. Gon-Usishkin, A. Gelbert, K. Lowengrub, L. Grunhaus

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) in the treatment of Panic Disorder (PD) and to compare the treatment outcome of CBGT versus Paroxetine pharmacotherapy. Fifty seven patients referred to our anxiety disorder clinic for the treatment of PD were randomly allocated to receive either CBGT or Paroxetine. Follow up was done by a masked rater after four and twelve weeks of treatment in order to compare the efficacy of CBGT versus Paroxetine. CBGT and Paroxetine were both effective in the short term treatment of PD. Assessments at weeks four and twelve of treatment showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of treatment outcome. Treatment with CBGT alone for the acute phase of PD appears to be equally efficacious to treatment with Paroxetine alone. Our study shows that CBGT produced beneficial results, for it was associated with a reduction in the number and frequency of panic attacks and with an improved feeling of well-being.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-46
Number of pages6
JournalAnnals of Clinical Psychiatry
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2004

Keywords

  • Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy
  • Panic Disorder
  • Treatment outcome

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