[Psychoanalytic treatment of anxiety disorders. Therapy concepts and results of evaluation research]

Since the beginning of the eighties, a change of paradigm concerning anxiety disorders has taken place. It has its roots in new international classifications such as DSM-III-R or ICD-10 and in the biological concept of Panic disorder. Psychoanalytic treatment of anxiety disorders has the longest tradition among all other psychotherapeutic methods. In the main part of this paper the following aspects are discussed: the psychoanalytic theory about etiology of anxiety disorders, the main characteristics of psychoanalytic intervention techniques, findings of evaluation studies, and new psychoanalytic aspects of Panic disorder. In the concluding part the great chance of personal growth through psychotherapeutic coping with anxiety is emphasized.