A follow-up study on short-term treatment of agoraphobia.
The differential effectiveness of three treatment packages for agoraphobia was tested. Patients received one of three short-term treatments: Breathing Retraining and Cognitive Restructuring, graded Self-Exposure in vivo, or a combination of both. No differential effects were found between the treatment conditions at posttest and at an 18 months follow-up. Improvement at follow-up assessment was associated with whether patients had further treatment during the follow-up period. No relationship was found between further improvement and demographic variables, pre- and posttest scores on psychological questionnaires or the use of medication at follow-up. Implications of these findings are examined.
Rijken
H
H
Department of Psychiatry, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Kraaimaat
F
F
de Ruiter
C
C
Garssen
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001143:Arousal; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D012064:Relaxation Therapy