[Group cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder with and without agoraphobia: an effectiveness study]

Although numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of both individual and group cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT), many authors have questioned the translation of these interventions into routine clinical practice. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of group CBT in patients diagnosed with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, in routine clinical practice.

The study involved 96 patients diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. Treatment consisted of 10 psychotherapy sessions of 2 hours each in a local health authority. A battery of psychometric instruments was used to assess variables including psychological symptoms, subjective well-being and psychosocial functioning before and after therapy. In addition to the evaluation of treatment outcome, final scores were compared to population norms and benchmarked against similar studies.

Almost all scores of the clinical scales used improved significantly. Only 42% of patients who were initially above the clinical cut-off on the CORE-OM showed clinically significant changes, and 20% of patients were below the clinical cut-off after treatment. Post-treatment CORE-OM scores were not significantly different from the values observed in the general population. These findings are consistent with those of comparable studies.

Group CBT is effective in routine clinical practice. In addition to reducing anxiety symptoms, treatment also results in an improvement of other related variables such as subjective well-being. Owing to its better patient-therapist ratio, group CBT should be considered as an alternative to individual CBT in routine clinical care in public services.