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Although clinical intuitions influence psychotherapeutic practice and are a rich source of novel hypotheses for research, many remain to be empirically tested. This study evaluates whether clinicians’ beliefs about barriers to progress in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder are supported by data. Data from a randomized-controlled trial comparing CBT to panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP) for adults with primary panic disorder (N = 161) were used to evaluate 15 factors endorsed by clinicians as impediments to CBT in a recent survey. Panic severity was assessed before, during (at Weeks 1, 5, and 9), and at termination of treatment (Week 12) using the Panic Disorder Severity Scale. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that none of the perceived barriers were predictive of poor outcome. Contrary to clinicians’ intuitions, dissociation during panic attacks was associated with greater symptomatic improvement in both treatment arms (β = −0.69, p < .05), above the effect of established predictors. Moderation analyses revealed that when patients had PTSD diagnosed with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (β = 1.71, p < .05) or less severe panic disorder (β = 0.45, p = .04), they changed more rapidly in CBT than in PFPP. Overall, clinician agreement was inversely related to the strength of a predictor (r = −.24, p = .39). Although clinical intuitions can be useful as clinical and empirical signals, such beliefs should be critically examined before informing practice. Dialogue between academics and clinicians might be enhanced through research that incorporates input from front-line practitioners.

To examine process of changes in two distinct psychotherapies-cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP). Two hypothesized processes of change-misinterpretation of bodily sensations and Panic Specific Reflective Function (PSRF)-were tested in the CBT and PFPP arms of the Cornell-Penn Study of Psychotherapies for Panic Disorder. The Brief Bodily Sensations Interpretation Questionnaire (BBSIQ) measures misinterpretation of bodily sensations-a focus of CBT interventions. PSRF, a target of PFPP, assesses the capacity to reflect on the underlying meaning of panic symptoms. A sample of 138 patients (37.7% men, 72.56% Whites, and 16.7% Latinx) with primary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) panic disorder were included in the present analyses. Mixed effects models tested the effects of early change in BBSIQ and PSRF (intake through Week 5) on subsequent change in the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS; Week 5 through termination). Early change on both PSRF and BBSIQ predicted subsequent change in panic severity across the two treatments. As predicted, PSRF changed more in PFPP than in CBT, but, contrary to expectation, BBSIQ showed comparable changes in both groups. Counterintuitively, CBT patients benefited more in terms of panic symptom improvement when their PSRF improved than did PFPP patients. This is the first demonstration of general processes of change (PSRF and BBSIQ) across psychotherapies for panic disorder, suggesting that to the extent patients change their beliefs about the meaning of panic, their panic symptoms improve in time-limited, panic-focused psychotherapies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Background It is not known whether common anxiety/mood comorbidities of panic disorder (PD) improve with panic-focused psychological treatment, nor whether there is differential efficacy between therapies in treating comorbidities. Methods In a randomized controlled trial for PD with and without agoraphobia comparing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP), symptomatic comorbidities of agoraphobia, MDD, GAD, and social anxiety disorder (SAD) were assessed pre-to-post treatment with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS). Comparative efficacy of CBT versus PFPP for treating comorbid disorders was tested at termination and 1 year's follow-up. Covariance between panic and comorbidity improvements was also analyzed. Results Most treatment completers (n = 120) evidenced diagnostic remission of their comorbidity (range = 54–69%), which typically reflected a subclinical score on the ADIS (mean range = 1.3 to 1.8). These improvements were generally retained at follow-up. However, patients with MDD dropped out significantly more often (HR = 2.79). No significant symptom change or remission differences emerged between CBT and PFPP for any comorbidity at termination or at follow-up. Panic change was strongly related to improvements in agoraphobia (r = 0.70) and MDD (r = 0.53), moderately related for GAD (r = 0.31), and not significantly related for SAD (r = 0.20). Discussion Patients completing panic-focused psychotherapies often experience meaningful remission for diagnoses of agoraphobia, MDD, GAD, and SAD, with no detectable differences between treatments, although sample sizes for the MDD and SAD comparisons were small. In addition, additional efforts may be needed to keep MDD-comorbid patients in treatment.

Safety behaviors (SBs) are generally perceived as ‘dysfunctional’ emotion-regulation strategies that reduce physical symptoms and prevent unrealistic feared consequences of panic attacks. However, it is unclear whether all types of SBs are a hindrance or whether some may promote self-regulation in treatment. We propose that the type of SBs might explain some of the variability between panic disorder (PD) patients, and might help to predict why treatment is more successful for some than for others. In this secondary analysis of a subsample of 65 PD patients who received Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in a two-site randomized controlled trial, we examined the associations between type of SB and pre-treatment characteristics and their predictive value on trajectories of change in treatment process and outcome (panic symptoms, interpersonal problems, alliance). An observer-rating system for five types of SBs (avoidance/distraction/control-function and object/people-focus) was developed and applied to videotaped early treatment sessions, with high reliability. Patients with higher levels of people-focused SBs reported higher levels of panic symptoms pre-treatment at both treatment sites. These people-focused SBs predicted poorer treatment response on panic symptoms at one of two sites. Avoidance, control, or distraction-function and object-focused SBs were not associated with treatment process or outcomes. People-focused SBs may worsen PD symptoms, and possibly slow treatment progress, although this latter finding was not consistent across sites. This study differentiated between types of SBs and identified people-focused SBs as possible predictor of symptom change in CBT for PD—potentially relevant for efforts to improve treatment response.

BackgroundThe hippocampus plays an important role in psychopathology and treatment outcome. While posterior hippocampus (PH) may be crucial for the learning process that exposure-based treatments require, affect-focused treatments might preferentially engage anterior hippocampus (AH). Previous studies have distinguished the different functions of these hippocampal sub-regions in memory, learning, and emotional processes, but not in treatment outcome. Examining two independent clinical trials, we hypothesized that anterior hippocampal volume would predict outcome of affect-focused treatment outcome [Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT); Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP)], whereas posterior hippocampal volume would predict exposure-based treatment outcome [Prolonged Exposure (PE); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Applied Relaxation Training (ART)].MethodsThirty-five patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 24 with panic disorder (PD) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before randomization to affect-focused (IPT for PTSD; PFPP for PD) or exposure-based treatments (PE for PTSD; CBT or ART for PD). AH and PH volume were regressed with clinical outcome changes.ResultsBaseline whole hippocampal volume did not predict post-treatment clinical severity scores in any treatment. For affect-focused treatments, but not exposure-based treatments, anterior hippocampal volume predicted clinical improvement. Smaller AH correlated with greater affect-focused treatment improvement. Posterior hippocampal volume did not predict treatment outcome.ConclusionsThis is the first study to explore associations between hippocampal volume sub-regions and treatment outcome in PTSD and PD. Convergent results suggest that affect-focused treatment may influence the clinical outcome through the ‘limbic’ AH, whereas exposure-based treatments do not. These preliminary, theory-congruent, therapeutic findings require replication in a larger clinical trial.

Introduction: Panic disorder patients who drop out of treatment typically do not remit from their disorder. How patient-level moderators influence dropping out of one panic-focused treatment over another has never been examined, nor in non-CBT treatments. Method: 200 patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were randomized to receive cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP), or applied relaxation training (ART) across two sites. Therapy was twice a week for 12 weeks. A two-step variable search method was applied to identify potential prognostic predictors and moderators of patient dropout. Survival models predicting hazard of session-by-session dropout tested the resulting variables. Results: Across treatments, unemployment and higher psychosocial disability on the Sheehan Disability Scale predicted increased risk of dropout, while patients with higher anxiety sensitivity were more likely to complete treatment. Patients who reported experiencing childhood abuse had heightened dropout in ART, but not CBT or PFPP. Men were especially likely to complete PFPP. Session 2 expectancies and patient-rated alliance predicted lower dropout only in CBT. Conclusions: Patient-level factors may influence both whether patients will complete any treatment, and whether they continue in a particular panic-focused therapy. Moderators of dropout (e.g., abuse history) may inform treatment decisions for specific patients.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00353470.

Introduction Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) comprises one aspect of attachment dysregulation or insecurity. Although SAD aggravates posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk, no clinical research has tracked how many patients with PTSD have SAD, its clinical associations, or its response to PTSD treatment. Our open trial of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for veterans with PTSD assessed these SAD domains. Methods Twenty-nine veterans diagnosed with chronic PTSD on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale were assessed for SAD using the Structured Clinical Interview for Separation Anxiety Symptoms (SCI-SAS), and for Symptom-Specific Reflective Function (SSRF), another dysregulated-attachment marker capturing patients' emotional understanding of their symptoms. Patients received 14 IPT sessions for PTSD with assessments at baseline, Week 4 (SCI-SAS and SSRF), and termination for SAD, PTSD, and depression. Results At baseline, 69% of patients met SAD criteria. Separation anxiety did not correlate with baseline PTSD severity, depressive severity, or age when traumatized; patients with and without SAD had comparable PTSD and depression severity. Patients with baseline comorbid SAD who completed IPT (N = 17) reported significantly improved adult separation anxiety (p = .009). Adult SAD improvements predicted depressive improvement (p = .049). Patients with SAD showed a stronger relationship between early SSRF gains and subsequent adult SAD improvement (p = .021) compared with patients without SAD. Discussion This first exploration of dysregulated/insecure attachment features among patients with PTSD found high SAD comorbidity and adult SAD improvement among patients with SAD following IPT. Highly impaired attachment patients normalized attachment posttreatment: 14-session IPT improved attachment dysregulation. This small study requires replication but begins to broaden clinical understanding of separation anxiety, attachment dysregulation, and PTSD.

Objective: This study examines whether, in panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP), interpretations of conflicts that underlie anxiety (panic-focused or PF-interpretations) are specifically associated with subsequent panic disorder (PD) symptom improvement, over and above the provision of non-symptom-focused interpretations. Method: Technique use in Sessions 2 and 10 of a 24-session PFPP protocol was assessed for the 65 patients with complete outcome data randomized to PFPP in a two-site trial of psychotherapies for PD. Sessions were rated in 15-min segments for therapists’ use of PF-interpretations, non-PF-interpretations, and PF-clarifications. Robust regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between these interventions and symptom change subsequent to the sampled session. Interpersonal problems were examined as a moderator of the relationship of PF-interpretations to symptom change. Results: At Session 10, but not at Session 2, patients who received a higher degree of PF-i...

BACKGROUND: No studies of psychotherapies for panic disorder (PD) have examined effects on comorbid personality disorders (PersD), yet half such patients have a PersD. METHODS: In a randomized trial for PD with and without agoraphobia comparing Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP), PersD was assessed pre-to-post treatment with the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnosis of Axis-II Disorders (SCID-II). For patients completing therapy (n = 118, 54 with PersD), covariance between panic and SCID-II criteria improvements was analyzed. SCID-II diagnostic remission and recovery were evaluated. Comparative efficacy of PFPP versus CBT for improving PersD was analyzed both for the average patient, and as a function of PersD severity. RESULTS: 37% and 17% of PersD patients experienced diagnostic PersD remission and recovery, respectively. Larger reductions in PersD were related to more panic improvement, with a modest effect size (r = 0.28). While there was no difference between treatments in their ability to improve PersD for the average patient (d = 0.01), patients meeting more PersD criteria did better in PFPP compared to CBT (p = 0.007), with PFPP being significantly superior at 11 criteria and above (d = 0.66; 3 more criteria lost). CONCLUSIONS: PersD presenting in the context of primary PD rarely resolves during psychotherapies focused on PD, and change in PersD only moderately tracks panic improvements, indicating non-overlap of the constructs. Patients receiving panic-focused psychotherapies may require additional treatment for their PersD. PFPP may be superior at improving severe PersD, but replication of this finding is required.

In panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP), exploration and interpretation of avoided and conflicted emotions and fantasies surrounding anxiety are thought to promote panic-specific reflective functioning (PSRF), which drives panic disorder improvements. Patient emotional expression within a session may be a marker of engaged processing and experiencing of affectively charged material. Degree of in-session expressed emotion, indicating both verbal and nonverbal emotions, was examined across three early therapy sessions for prediction of subsequent outcomes. We further investigated whether personality disorder traits, theorized to relate to constricted (obsessive-compulsive) or heightened (borderline) emotions, moderated this relationship. Emotional expression in Sessions 2, 5, and 10 of a 24-session PFPP protocol was assessed by blinded observers in 44 patients randomized to PFPP in a two-site randomized controlled trial of psychotherapies for panic disorder. Robust regressions were conducted to examine the relationship between average emotional expression across the measured sessions and symptom and PSRF changes subsequent to the sampled sessions, as well as moderation by personality disorder criteria, controlling for early outcomes. Higher levels of emotional expression across the early sessions predicted greater subsequent symptom and PSRF improvement. Elevations in expression of grief/sadness drove the symptomatic finding. Patients meeting more borderline criteria experienced a smaller and potentially negative relationship between emotional expression and symptom improvement. Emotional expression in PFPP may be an indicator of positive therapy process for patients without comorbid borderline personality traits, predicting prospective improvements in both a key mediator (PSRF) and symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether working alliance quality and use of techniques predict improvement in Panic-Specific Reflection Function (PSRF), and misinterpretation of bodily sensations in treatments for panic disorder. METHOD: A sample of 161 patients received either CBT or PFPP (Panic-focused Psychodynamic therapy) within a larger RCT (Milrod et al., 2016). Data were collected on patient-reported working alliance, misinterpretations, PSRF, observer-coded use of techniques, and interviewer-rated panic severity. Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models assessed bi-directional associations, disentangling within- and between-patient effects, and accounting for prior change. RESULTS: Higher alliance predicted subsequent within-patient improvement in PSRF in PFPP, but worsening in CBT. In both treatments, focus on interpersonal relationships predicted PRSF improvement (with stronger effects in CBT), while focus on thoughts and behaviors predicted worsening in PSRF. In CBT only, early focus on affect and moment-to-moment experience predicted reduced misinterpretation, while high focus on thoughts and cognitions predicted subsequent increase in misinterpretation. CONCLUSION: The quality of the alliance has differential effects on PSRF in distinct treatments. Interpersonal, rather than cognitive or behavioral focus, even when delivered differently within distinct treatments with high adherence, could facilitate improvement in PSRF. Additionally, early focus on affect and moment-to-moment experiences in CBT could reduce misinterpretations.

Objective To compare cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP), and applied relaxation training (ART) for primary DSM-IV panic disorder with and without agoraphobia in a 2-site randomized controlled trial. Method 201 patients were stratified for site and DSM-IV agoraphobia and depression and were randomized to CBT, PFPP, or ART (19-24 sessions) over 12 weeks in a 2:2:1 ratio at Weill Cornell Medical College (New York, New York) and University of Pennsylvania ("Penn"; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Any medication was held constant. Results Attrition rates were ART, 41%; CBT, 25%; and PFPP, 22%. The most symptomatic patients were more likely to drop out of ART than CBT or PFPP (P = .013). Outcome analyses revealed site-by-treatment interactions in speed of Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) change over time (P = .013). At Cornell, no differences emerged on improvement on the primary outcome, estimated speed of change over time on the PDSS; at Penn, ART (P = .025) and CBT (P = .009) showed greater improvement at treatment termination than PFPP. A site-by-treatment interaction (P = .016) for a priori-defined response (40% PDSS reduction) showed significant differences at Cornell: ART 30%, CBT 65%, PFPP 71% (P = .007), but not at Penn: ART 63%, CBT 60%, PFPP 48% (P = .37). Penn patients were more symptomatic, differed demographically from Cornell patients, had a 7.2-fold greater likelihood of taking medication, and had a 28-fold greater likelihood of taking benzodiazepines. However, these differences did not explain site-by-treatment interactions. Conclusions All treatments substantially improved panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, but patients, particularly the most severely ill, found ART less acceptable. CBT showed the most consistent performance across sites; however, the results for PFPP showed the promise of psychodynamic psychotherapy for this disorder. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00353470.

Objective The contributions of disorder severity, comorbidity and interpersonal variables to therapists' adherence to a cognitive–behavioural treatment (CBT) manual were tested. Method Thirty-eight patients received panic control therapy (PCT) for panic disorder. Trained observers watching videotapes of the sixth session of a 24-session protocol rated therapists' adherence to PCT and their use of interventions from outside the CBT model. Different observers rated patients' behavioural resistance to therapy in the same session using the client resistance code. Interview measures obtained before treatment included the Panic Disorder Severity Scale, the anxiety disorders interview schedule for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV and the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV, Axis II. Questionnaire measures were the anxiety sensitivity index at intake, and, at session 2, the therapist and client versions of the working alliance inventory—short form. Results The higher the patients' resistance and the more Axis II traits a patient had, the less adherent the therapist. Moreover, the more resistant the client, the more therapists resorted to interventions from outside the CBT model. Stronger therapist and patient alliance was also generally related to better adherence, but these results were somewhat inconsistent across therapists. Pretreatment disorder severity and comorbidity were not related to adherence. Conclusions Interpersonal variables, particularly behavioural resistance to therapy, are related to therapists' ability to adhere to a treatment manual and to their use of interventions from outside of the CBT model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner message Patients' behavioural resistance to therapy may make it more difficult for cognitive–behavioural clinicians to adhere to a structured treatment protocol and more likely for them to borrow interventions from outside the CBT model. Patients' Axis II traits may make adherence to treatment CBT protocol more difficult, although whether this is true varies across therapists. Therapists' adherence to a structured protocol and borrowing from outside of the CBT model do not appear to be affected by disorder severity or Axis I comorbidity.

Objective Panic disorder (PD) is associated with significant personal, social, and economic costs. However, little is known about specific interpersonal dysfunctions that characterize the PD population. The current study systematically examined these interpersonal dysfunctions. Method The present analyses included 194 patients with PD out of a sample of 201 who were randomized to cognitive-behavioral therapy, panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy, or applied relaxation training. Interpersonal dysfunction was measured with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex (Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000). Results Individuals with PD reported greater levels of interpersonal distress than that of a normative cohort (especially when PD was accompanied by agoraphobia), but lower than that of a cohort of patients with major depression. There was no single interpersonal profile that characterized PD patients. Symptom-based clusters (with vs. without agoraphobia) could not be discriminated on core or central interpersonal problems. Rather, as revealed by cluster analysis based on the pathoplasticity framework, there were 2 empirically derived interpersonal clusters among PD patients that were not accounted for by symptom severity and were opposite in nature: domineering-intrusive and nonassertive. The empirically derived interpersonal clusters appear to be of clinical utility in predicting alliance development throughout treatment: Although the domineering-intrusive cluster did not show any changes in the alliance throughout treatment, the nonassertive cluster showed a process of significant strengthening of the alliance. Conclusions Empirically derived interpersonal clusters in PD provide clinically useful and nonredundant information about individuals with PD.

Objective Given the chronic, episodic nature of panic disorder, it is important to examine long-term outcomes of patients who respond well to various psychotherapies. Method Out of 116 patients with DSM-IV panic disorder who evidenced a ≥ 40% reduction in panic and avoidance symptoms on the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) after 12-14 weeks of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or applied relaxation training as part of a 2-site randomized controlled trial conducted between January 2007 and July 2012, 91 patients provided at least 1 PDSS datapoint during follow-up. Patients were assessed at each of the 12 following months using the PDSS, the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and twice during the follow-up period with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule. Results Patients with panic disorder who responded to 1 of 3 treatments maintained their gains on the PDSS, SDS, and HDRS with no differences by condition in rates of change over the follow-up period (all P values ≥ .20). Similarly, 57% of improved patients did not have a panic disorder diagnosis by the end of 1 year, regardless of the treatment received. No differences in rates of panic disorder diagnosis were found across treatment conditions at either 6 months or 12 months (all P values ≥ .78). Results should be interpreted in light of the fact that patients giving data at follow-up experienced lower symptom levels at treatment termination than those not providing data. Conclusions Improvement in any of the 3 treatments examined in this trial was largely maintained for a year following the end of therapy. Future treatment development could focus on factors to increase the level of response in the active phase of therapy. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00353470.

Objective To identify variables predicting psychotherapy outcome for panic disorder or indicating which of 2 very different forms of psychotherapy-panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)-would be more effective for particular patients. Method Data were from 161 adults participating in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) including these psychotherapies. Patients included 104 women; 118 patients were White, 33 were Black, and 10 were of other races; 24 were Latino(a). Predictors/moderators measured at baseline or by Session 2 of treatment were used to predict change on the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). Results Higher expectancy for treatment gains (Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire d = -1.05, CI95% [-1.50, -0.60]), and later age of onset (d = -0.65, CI95% [-0.98, -0.32]) were predictive of greater change. Both variables were also significant moderators: patients with low expectancy of improvement improved significantly less in PFPP than their counterparts in CBT, whereas this was not the case for patients with average or high levels of expectancy. When patients had an onset of panic disorder later in life (≥27.5 years old), they fared as well in PFPP as CBT. In contrast, at low and mean levels of onset age, CBT was the more effective treatment. Conclusions Predictive variables suggest possibly fruitful foci for improvement of treatment outcome. In terms of moderation, CBT was the more consistently effective treatment, but moderators identified some patients who would do as well in PFPP as in CBT, thereby widening empirically supported options for treatment of this disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record

Although widely used, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS) discriminate poorly between depression and anxiety. To address this problem, Riskind, Beck, Brown, and Steer (J Nerv Ment Dis. 175:474-479, 1987) created the Reconstructed Hamilton Scales by reconfiguring HRSD and HARS items into modified scales. To further analyze the reconstructed scales, we examined their factor structure and criterion-related validity in a sample of patients with major depressive disorder and no comorbid anxiety disorders (n = 215) or with panic disorder and no comorbid mood disorders (n = 149). Factor analysis results were largely consistent with those of Riskind et al. The correlation between the new reconstructed scales was small. Compared with the original scales, the new reconstructed scales correlated more strongly with diagnosis in the expected direction. The findings recommend the use of the reconstructed HRSD over the original HRSD but highlight problems with the criterion-related validity of the original and reconstructed HARS.

Clinically significant separation anxiety disorder in childhood leads to adult panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. The prevailing pathophysiological model of anxiety disorders, which emphasizes extinction deficits of fear-conditioned responses, does not fully consider the role of separation anxiety. Pathological early childhood attachments have far-reaching consequences for the later adult ability to experience and internalize positive relationships in order to develop mental capacities for self-soothing, anxiety tolerance, affect modulation, and individuation. Initially identified in attachment research, the phenomenon of separation anxiety is supported by animal model, neuroimaging, and genetic studies. A role of oxytocin is postulated. Adults, inured to their anxiety, often do not identify separation anxiety as problematic, but those who develop anxiety and mood disorders respond more poorly to both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. This poorer response may reflect patients' difficulty in forming and maintaining attachments, including therapeutic relationships. Psychotherapies that focus on relationships and separation anxiety may benefit patients with separation anxiety by using the dyadic therapist-patient relationship to recapture and better understand important elements of earlier pathological parent-child relationships.

An open, pilot clinical trial of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (CAPP), a 24-session, 12-week, manualized psychodynamic psychotherapy, was conducted in 10 patients, ages 8...

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of manualized panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP) in routine care in Germany. Method: German psychoanalysts were trained according to the PFPP manual. Fifty-four consecutive outpatients with panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to PFPP or cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) plus exposure therapy. Subjects (female 57.4%; mean age 36.2 years) had high rates of psychiatric (68.5%) and somatic (64.8%) comorbidity, and previous psychiatric treatments (57.4%). Assessments were performed pre- and posttreatment and at 6-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was the Panic Disorder Severity Scale. Results: Both treatments were highly effective. In patients randomized to PFPP, remission was achieved in 44.4% at termination and by 50% at follow-up (CBT 61.1 % and 55.6%, respectively). No significant differences were found. Emotional awareness, a posited moderator of good outcome in psychotherapies, was significantly higher in the CBT group at baseline. It was found to be a strong moderator of treatment effectiveness in both treatments. After adjusting for initial Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) scores, effect sizes (ESs) for the primary outcome were Cohen d = 1.28, from pre- to posttreatment, and d = 1.03, from pretreatment to follow-up, for PFPP, and d = 1.81 and 1.28 for CBT, respectively. Conclusions: PFPP was implemented effectively into clinical practice by psychoanalysts in the community in a sample with severe mental illness with large ESs. Assessment of LEAS may facilitate the identification of patients suitable for short-term psychotherapy. (Clinical Trial Registration Number: German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00000245; Universal Trial Number, U1111-1112-4245)

Panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy (PFPP) is a 24-session, twice-weekly (12 weeks), manualized psychoanalytic psychotherapy with demonstrated preliminary efficacy for panic disorder (PD).1,2 Given the substantial morbidity and the health care utilization of the PD population,3,4 coupled with the sizable proportion of such patients who do not respond (or respond inadequately) to alternate treatments (cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT] and drug therapy),5–7 PFPP may offer clinicians an additional tool for their therapeutic armamentarium. It may also facilitate a rapprochement between academic psychiatry and psychodynamic perspectives, and a reassessment of the role of psychodynamic therapy as part of the educational experience of residents in training—an experience that has diminished over two decades.

will diminish, lose toxicity; you can verbalize them, understand them, integrate them, gain control over them, even use them to understand and change your life situation (4). Meeting strong negative affect with empathy and without retreat is an active intervention crucial to treating the grief of complicated bereavement (5), the anxiety that habituation requires in exposure (6), the anger of the patient with borderline personality (7, 8) or bipolar disorder, and the acute anxiety in panic disorder. Sharing negative affect with a patient in effect demonstrates empathy. Conversely, to change the subject when emotion becomes uncomfortably intense tacitly conveys that the patient’s feelings are in fact dangerous and best avoided.

Systematic research on psychoanalytic treatments has been limited by several factors, including a belief that clinical experience can demonstrate the effectiveness of psychoanalysis, rendering systematic research unnecessary, the view that psychoanalytic research would be difficult or impossible to accomplish, and a concern that research would distort the treatment being delivered. In recent years, however, many psychoanalysts have recognized the necessity of research in order to obtain a more balanced assessment of the role of psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in a contemporary treatment armamentarium, as well as to allow appropriate evaluation and potentially greater acceptance by the broader mental health and medical communities. In this context, studies were conducted of a psychodynamic treatment, Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP), initially in an open trial and then in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in comparison with a less active treatment, Applied Relaxation Training (ART; Cerny et al. 1984), for adults with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. The results of the RCT demonstrated the efficacy of PFPP in treating panic disorder, and also demonstrated that a psychoanalytic treatment can be systematically evaluated in a mode consistent with the principles of evidence-based medicine. Two specific features of the methodology, the development of the treatment manual and the operationalization of the adherence instrument, both core building blocks of contemporary psychotherapy outcome research, and their implications for psychoanalytic research are discussed in greater depth. The theoretical, clinical, and educational implications of the PFPP studies are elaborated, and suggestions are made for pursuing further outcome research of psychoanalytic treatments.

Background: Little research has addressed moderators of treatment outcome for anxiety disorders, and none has considered interpersonal loss as a predictor of outcome. Purpose: To examine the effect of interpersonal loss events within the 6 weeks preceding panic disorder onset as a moderator of outcome in a randomized controlled trial of Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Therapy (PFPP) and Applied Relaxation Therapy (ART). Researchers hypothesized that such loss events would predict better outcome in PFPP but would not affect ART outcome. Method: Forty-nine subjects with panic disorder were randomly assigned to a 12-week course of PFPP or ART. Independent raters blinded to treatment condition and study hypotheses rated subjects on the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and Sheehan Disability Scale. Exploratory analyses assessed between-group effect size for PFPP and ART following standard moderator analytic procedures. The trial was conducted between February 2000 and January 2005. Results: Three quarters of subjects reported a narrowly defined interpersonal loss (LOSS) in the 6 weeks preceding panic disorder onset. These subjects had a mean (SD) duration of panic disorder of 8.2 (9.5) years. PFPP was more efficacious than ART, but LOSS did not moderate PFPP outcome. An unexpected finding was that LOSS moderated ART outcome: subjects without LOSS showed no response to ART (PDSS mean (SD) change score = 0.00 [2.90]), whereas LOSS had a pre-post mean (SD) change score of 4.29 (5.60). Neither examination of potential confounding variables nor sensitivity analyses of assumptions regarding attrition altered these findings. Conclusions: Interpersonal loss events preceding onset of panic disorder were more common even than in prior studies. These losses moderated outcome in ART, a therapy that does not focus on such losses. Implications and the need for future research before incorporating these findings into clinical practice are discussed. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00128388

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy relative to applied relaxation training, a credible psychotherapy comparison condition. Despite the widespread clinical use of psychodynamic psychotherapies, randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating such psychotherapies for axis I disorders have lagged. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first efficacy randomized controlled clinical trial of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy, a manualized psychoanalytical psychotherapy for patients with DSM-IV panic disorder.This was a randomized controlled clinical trial of subjects with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. Participants were recruited over 5 years in the New York City metropolitan area. Subjects were 49 adults ages 18-55 with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. All subjects received assigned treatment, panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy or applied relaxation training in twice-weekly sessions for 12 weeks. The Panic Disorder Severity Scale, rated by blinded independent evaluators, was the primary outcome measure.Subjects in panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy had significantly greater reduction in severity of panic symptoms. Furthermore, those receiving panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy were significantly more likely to respond at treatment termination (73% versus 39%), using the Multicenter Panic Disorder Study response criteria. The secondary outcome, change in psychosocial functioning, mirrored these results.Despite the small cohort size of this trial, it has demonstrated preliminary efficacy of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE The American Psychiatric Association (APA) practice guideline for panic disorder recommends psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder patients with comorbid personality disorders. No data underlie this recommendation. This exploratory study assessed the moderating effect of personality disorder on psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic psychotherapy outcome. METHOD Forty-nine subjects with primary DSM-IV panic disorder were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of twice-weekly Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy or Applied Relaxation Training. The primary outcome measure was the Panic Disorder Severity Scale; the moderating effect of Axis II psychopathology on the Sheehan Disability Scale was also tested. The trial was conducted between February 2000 and January 2005. RESULTS Twenty-four subjects (49%) met DSM-IV criteria for a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders-diagnosed personality disorder, of whom 19 (79%) had a cluster C diagnosis. Presence of a cluster C diagnosis moderated treatment outcome. Such subjects experienced greater improvements in Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy than subjects without cluster C comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS Despite its small sample size, this exploratory analysis provides initial preliminary evidence corroborating the APA practice guideline recommendation. Future panic disorder clinical trials should explore Axis II moderator effects. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00128388.

Separation anxiety, long an area of interest for psychoanalysts, has been included in DSM-5 among general “anxiety disorders” that span across age groups. The syndrome of separation anxiety has been shown to correlate with nonresponse to treatments for anxiety and mood disorders (Milrod et al. 2014). It is therefore of public health importance to develop targeted treatments for this syndrome. Some psychoanalysts have suggested that brief psychoanalytic interventions may be of particular value in addressing separation anxiety. Our clinical work with patients with anxiety disorders with high levels of separation anxiety indicates that they have such intense anger and ambivalence in fraught intimate relationships that they feel stuck and helpless, almost eliminating more positive feelings. This ambivalence and associated unconscious conflicts inevitably emerge in the therapeutic relationship and can threaten to disrupt treatment efforts. We propose a set of focused psychodynamic psychotherapeutic interventions to address separation anxiety, developed as part of Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy–eXtended Range (PFPP-XR; Busch et al. 2012). We present a case from our research study of treatment nonresponders with anxiety disorders and separation anxiety. The patient was successfully treated with PFPP-XR in a 21-session treatment.

This paper outlines the successful psychoanalytic treatment of a latency-aged boy with severe conversion disorder. Details of clinical treatment are presented. As no tested treatment has yet been found that reliably treats chronic conversion in children, this case is of importance in demonstrating the usefulness of psychoanalysis as treatment for severe psychopathology. The patient's unconscious fantasy constellations that gave rise to this syndrome are highlighted.

The psychoanalytic community increasingly recognizes the importance of research on psychoanalytic treatments, yet a significant number of psychoanalysts continue to believe that research is either irrelevant to psychoanalysis or impossible to accomplish. Psychoanalysts who accept the value of research express concern that intrusions required by research protocols create significant distortions in the psychoanalytic process. The authors, all psychoanalysts, are studying the outcome of a brief (twenty-four-session) psychodynamic treatment of panic disorder. They report their experiences and struggles with the intrusions of videotaping, working with a treatment manual, and time-limited treatment. This research process required them to question old beliefs and to confront feelings of disloyalty toward their analytic training and identity, particularly with regard to keeping a “clean field” and routinely performing long-term analysis of character. The therapists' psychoanalytic knowledge, however, emerged as crucial for them in managing specific research constraints. Despite concerns about providing inadequate treatment, therapists were found to engage patients with psychoanalytic tools and focus in vibrant and productive therapies that led to significant improvements in panic symptoms and associated quality of life. The authors suggest that psychoanalysts have been overestimating the potential damage of research constraints on psychoanalytic process and outcome.

Both research and clinical work have revealed factors that can lead to the onset and persistence of panic disorder. Preoedipal conflicts intensify the danger of oedipal longings for panic patients. Competition with the same-sex parent is linked with angry preoedipal fantasies and associated fears of disruption in attachments. Fantasied or actual successes can thus trigger panic episodes. Regression to a helpless, dependent state such as panic defends against the danger of aggressive, competitive fantasies and actual achievements. However, the regressive state can also be experienced as dangerous, and can be linked with frightening homosexual fantasies. A reactive aggressive oedipal stance can sometimes result, triggering escalating turmoil. The panic episode serves a series of compromise formations in dealing with these conflicted wishes.

Unconscious pregnancy fantasies are outlined as an underlying dynamic organizer to the panic experience in some patients with panic disorder. Detailed case material from the treatment of two childless panic patients, one male and one female (nonpregnant) is presented to illustrate this. A literature review found reports of nine nonpregnant patients, none exposed to a pregnant analyst, in whom these fantasies are described as central. Four of these patients had a psychiatric syndrome consistent with panic and agoraphobia. Some mechanisms that may underlie these connections are explored.

York, NY I 0021. lasted for 20 minutes and then gradually abated over the better part of an hour. Ms. A did not think of her panic as a reason for seeking psychiatric treatment. She did not have agoraphobia but lived with a chronic, vague sense of severe anxiety, accompanied by the fantasy that she was “doomed.” She had no specific phobias. The symptom that caused Ms. A the most distress was her chronic difficulty negotiat. ing relationships with others. Beginning with her earliest relationships with her parents and older sister in childhood, Ms. A found herself in interpersonal situations in which she felt abused and demeaned, either emotionally or physically. In high school and college she had often felt belittled by friends and boyfriends. Currently, these issues recurred in the context of her relationship with her fianc#{233} and her interactions with colleagues at graduate school. In the course of these stormy relationships, Ms. A would become so agitated and panicked that she was often violent. In the middle of fights with her fianc#{233}, for example, she would find herself hitting him and running out of the apartment dressed in insufficient clothing in the middle of the night. She had no vegetative symptoms. She had no history of depression, mania, psychosis, or substance abuse. She had never been suicidal. Ms. A’s medical history was considered noncontributory.

The case of a late adolescent with panic disorder and obsessivecompulsive disorder is described. The patient experienced resolution of both disorders in brief psychodynamic psychotherapy, but required psychoanalysis in order to make inroads into his restricted life-style. This case illustrates the continued usefulness of psychoanalysis in the treatment of such patients.

This manual presents a carefully researched, detailed psychodynamic treatment program for the alleviation of a transdiagnostic range of primary Axis I anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and related psychological problems. First exploring the principles of psychodynamic theory and formulation, the authors then present a three-phased process of Panic Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy-Extended Range (PFPP-XR): initial evaluation, interpretation of central conflicts and defense mechanisms, and termination. Each phase is discussed in depth and relies on central case illustrations to demonstrate techniques and results. A subsequent chapter explores how to address complex issues that may arise during the course of treatment. Altogether, this manual not only provides a demonstrated, adaptable approach for anxiety disorders, but also clearly embodies a spirit of research and empiricism heretofore rare in psychodynamic psychotherapies, with an eye toward future development.

Aims of this study were (a) to summarize the psychometric literature on the Mobility Inventory for Agoraphobia (MIA), (b) to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the MIA’s Avoidance Alone and Avoidance Accompanied rating scales relative to clinical severity ratings of anxiety disorders from the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS), and (c) to establish a cutoff score indicative of interviewers’ diagnosis of agoraphobia for the Avoidance Alone scale. A meta-analytic synthesis of 10 published studies yielded positive evidence for internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity of the scales. Participants in the present study were 129 people with a diagnosis of panic disorder. Internal consistency was excellent for this sample, α = .95 for AAC and .96 for AAL. When the MIA scales were correlated with interviewer ratings, evidence for convergent and discriminant validity for AAL was strong (convergent r with agoraphobia severity ratings = .63 vs. discriminant rs of .10-.29 for other anxiety disorders) and more modest but still positive for AAC (.54 vs. .01-.37). Receiver operating curve analysis indicated that the optimal operating point for AAL as an indicator of ADIS agoraphobia diagnosis was 1.61, which yielded sensitivity of .87 and specificity of .73.

Isolated sleep paralysis (ISP) has received scant attention in clinical populations, and there has been little empirical consideration of the role of fear in ISP episodes. To facilitate research and clinical work in this area, the authors developed a reliable semistructured interview (the Fearful Isolated Sleep Paralysis Interview) to assess ISP and their proposed fearful ISP (FISP) episode criteria in 133 patients presenting for panic disorder treatment. Of these, 29.3% met lifetime ISP episode criteria, 20.3% met the authors' lifetime FISP episode criteria, and 12.8% met their recurrent FISP criteria. Both ISP and FISP were associated with minority status and comorbidity. However, only FISP was significantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, body mass, anxiety sensitivity, and mood and anxiety disorder symptomatology.

OBJECTIVE: This report contains preliminary data from an open trial of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder. METHOD: Fourteen patients with primary DSM-IV panic disorder completed a 24-session, twice-weekly course of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Other psychiatric treatment was not permitted throughout the 12-week treatment period and the 6-month follow-up. Symptoms were assessed at baseline, treatment termination, and 6-month posttermination follow-up (40 weeks). RESULTS: Statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements appeared in panic, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment both at treatment termination and at 6-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Psychodynamic monotherapy can be used successfully to retain and treat patients with panic disorder. Psychodynamic interventions warrant further study for patients with panic disorder.

Both pharmacological [1–3] and cognitive-behavioral treatments [4–6] of panic disorder have been found to be effective in treatment. Despite this progress, not all patients respond or are able to tolerate these treatments [4–8]. Relapse is frequent if medication is discontinued before a prolonged maintenance phase [9–12]. Questions remain about the long-term effectiveness of these interventions [4, 13]. In studies of “routine care,” generally a poorly defined mix, patients frequently demonstrate persistent symptoms and problems functioning [14]. Little systematic data are available about whether or not these treatments are effective in treating impairments associated with panic disorder, such as occupational dysfunction, relationship difficulties, and diminished quality of life [15, 16]. Given the high morbidity and health costs of this disorder [17–20], it is important to continue to develop the most effective treatments for panic disorder and its related impairments.

In light of new research findings about the efficacy of psychodynamic treatment for panic disorder and agoraphobia, it seems a prudent time to carefully address psychoanalytic thinking about the treatment of agoraphobia. The literature has highlighted oedipal contributions to its genesis and clinical unraveling in psychoanalysis. While those contributions are indeed central to the disorder, structural deficits in the self-representation often become a central focus of treatment once symptomatic remission has been achieved in psychoanalytic treatment. This aspect of the clinical presentation of agoraphobia has not yet been specifically addressed in the psychiatric literature. Some aspects of the phenomenon have been described by psychoanalysts. It is more difficult to treat this “emptiness” than the overt symptoms of agoraphobia, as described in DSM-IV. Nonetheless, this phenomenon may be one of the contributors to the chronicity of the disorder. Two clinical cases illustrate these points.

This review was designed to provide a detailed analysis of long-term outcome data from treatment studies for panic disorder, with the goal of ascertaining differential efficacy of the available treatments. Studies were included if they were published after 1980 and if follow-up took place at least 6 months after treatment termination. Thirty-one studies were located. A variety of methodological problems were found in these studies, including lack of clarity of diagnosis, lack of clarity in the treatment administered, and inadequately tracked nonstudy treatments during the study and follow-up periods, which limited the information that could be obtained about long-term outcome. Long-term outcome studies that closely track the additional treatments that patients receive are necessary to draw more definitive conclusions about differential treatment efficacy for panic disorder. Available data suggest that there is limited evidence for long-term maintenance of short-term treatment gains in panic disorder patients in the absence of continued treatment.