Panic Disorder (PD) is a serious psychiatric illness which, if left untreated, can be associated with significant life dysfunction and distress. Although a number of controlled experimental studies have supported the efficacy of Panic Control Therapy (PCT) as a cognitive-behavioral treatment for PD, no studies have evaluated the transportability of PCT to real-world clinical practice. Investigating the outcomes of an empirically validated manual-based psychotherapy in clinical practice is a crucial step in disseminating effective treatments and working towards empirically-based standards of care. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of training in PCT for master's level therapists working in a managed care context. Ten clinicians will be randomly assigned to PCT training or treatment as usual (TAU). Patients meeting criteria for PD = 120) with varying degrees of severity and with or without agoraphobia will be randomly assigned to PCT-trained or TAU therapists. Outcomes will be evaluated at post-treatment, 3 months 1 year, and 2 years following treatment. Blind ratings of therapist adherence to PCT will provide an assessment of how well clinicians can learn and implement the protocol in clinical practice following state of the art training. By maintaining random assignment of therapists and patients, this study will possess the necessary internal validity to draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of PCT in clinical practice. The use of non- expert master's level clinicians, and a more heterogeneous sample of patients than previous studies, will greatly enhance the generalizability of the findings, and speak to the effectiveness of PCT in real-world clinical practice.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
5R29MH057778-05
Application #
6499266
Study Section
Services Research Review Committee (SER)
Program Officer
Street, Linda L
Project Start
1998-04-15
Project End
2004-01-31
Budget Start
2002-02-01
Budget End
2004-01-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$85,312
Indirect Cost
Name
Clark University (Worcester, MA)
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Worcester
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
01610
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Addis, Michael E; Mahalik, James R (2003) Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking. Am Psychol 58:5-14
Addis, M E; Krasnow, A D (2000) A national survey of practicing psychologists' attitudes toward psychotherapy treatment manuals. J Consult Clin Psychol 68:331-9