PMID: 9167504Jun 1, 1997Paper

Benzodiazepines and exposure-based cognitive behavior therapies for panic disorder: conclusions from combined treatment trials

The American Journal of Psychiatry
D A Spiegel, T J Bruce

Abstract

Concurrent use of benzodiazepines and psychotherapy for panic disorder is a prevalent but highly controversial practice. Although there are many rationales for that approach, critics contend that benzodiazepines foster drug abuse and dependence and undermine psychosocial treatments in various ways. The authors examine that controversy in the light of recent empirical findings and offer some tentative conclusions and recommendations. Data from studies combining benzodiazepines and the leading psychosocial treatment for panic disorder, exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy, are reviewed, and their application to clinical practice is discussed. The strongest support for combined treatment is for the addition of cognitive behavior therapy to pharmacotherapy for patients with agoraphobia and for those whose benzodiazepine treatment is being discontinued. The greatest problem with combined treatment is relapse after drug discontinuance. Combined treatment may be advantageous for some patients, but it must be carefully designed to avoid potential problems. Suggestions for that are given.

Citations

Sep 20, 2005·General Hospital Psychiatry·Guy A FarberCraig A White
Nov 26, 2003·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·UNKNOWN Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Clinical Practice Guidelines Team for Panic Disorder and Agoraphob
Dec 31, 2002·Journal of Psychopharmacology·Allison MatthewsFrances Martin
Jan 23, 2009·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·Norio WatanabeToshi A Furukawa
Sep 23, 2014·Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics·Vladan Starcevic
Dec 10, 1999·Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology·D A Spiegel
Sep 3, 2003·Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplementum·T I Zaider, R G Heimberg
Jun 1, 2005·Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine·Bangaru Raju, David Meagher

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.