Two-year follow-up after a randomised controlled trial of self- and clinician-accompanied exposure for phobia/panic disorders.
BACKGROUND
Long-term follow-up has rarely been reported after self-exposure therapy for phobias.


OBJECTIVE
Completion of such a follow-up.


METHODS
Two-year follow-up was achieved in 68 (85%) of 80 patients with phobias who had completed a previous 14-week randomised controlled trial comparing therapist-accompanied self-exposure, self-exposure or self-relaxation. Measures were self-reported ratings of symptoms, satisfaction and use of other treatment.


RESULTS
Improvement at week 14 was maintained 2 years later. Clinician-accompanied exposure and self-exposure did not differ on any measure. Compliance with self-exposure homework during weeks 0-8 predicted more improvement 2 years later. Patients who failed to improve with relaxation by week 14 improved after subsequent crossover to exposure. A need for more treatment for their phobias was still felt by 33 patients (49%).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with phobias maintained their improvement to 2-year follow-up after the end of self-exposure therapy.
Park
J M
JM
Department of Psychiatry, Pusan National University College of Medicine, Pusan, Korea.
Mataix-Cols
D
D
Marks
I M
IM
Ngamthipwatthana
T
T
Marks
M
M
Araya
R
R
Al-Kubaisy
T
T
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012064:Relaxation Therapy; D012648:Self Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome