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Psychoanalytic psychotherapists have long argued that their therapies are effective for panic disorder, but these claims have lacked the evidence required by current standards. In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, 49 adults with DSM-IV panic disorder underwent 12-week courses of twice-weekly panic-focused psychodynamic therapy (PFP) or applied relaxation training, a behavioral therapy less elaborate than cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). PFP involves three phases, addressing different issues: (1) unconscious issues thought to be associated with panic, (2) salient unconscious conflicts thought to contribute to panic vulnerability, and (3) separation- and anger-related conflicts that may reemerge with termination.
Response was defi…