Treatment of panic disorder: live therapy vs. self-help via the Internet.
A randomized trial was conducted comparing 10 individual weekly sessions of cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia with a 10-module self-help program on the Internet. After confirming the PD diagnosis with an in-person structured clinical interview (SCID) 49 participants were randomized. Overall, the results suggest that Internet-administered self-help plus minimal therapist contact via e-mail can be equally effective as traditional individual cognitive behaviour therapy. Composite within-group effect sizes were high in both groups, while the between-group effect size was small (Cohen's d=16). One-year follow-up confirmed the results, with a within-group effect size of Cohen's d=0.80 for the Internet group and d=0.93 for the live group. The results from this study generally provide evidence to support the continued use and development of Internet-distributed self-help programs.
Carlbring
Per
P
Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Box 1225, 751 42 Uppsala, Sweden. per.carlbring@psyk.uu.se
Nilsson-Ihrfelt
Elisabeth
E
Waara
Johan
J
Kollenstam
Cecilia
C
Buhrman
Monica
M
Kaldo
Viktor
V
Söderberg
Marie
M
Ekselius
Lisa
L
Andersson
Gerhard
G
D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome