Cognitive-behavioural Therapyin Panic Disorder: the Preparation of Patients With Panic Disorder for Interoceptive and in Vivo Agoraphobic Exposure

The patients with PDA were diagnosed by medical psychiatrists from the team at the Respiration and Panic Laboratory of Instituto de Psiquiatria da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), INCT Translational Medicine, according to the criteria of diagnostic of the Manual of Diagnostic and Statistics of Mental Disorder (DSM-IV-TR, 2002b) and according to the evaluation instrument SCID-I (Structured Clinical Interview Diagnostic) (First et al, 1997). The sample consisted of 50 voluntary patients divided in two Groups. The 1st Group, made up of 25 individuals, received 10 sessions of CBT. The 2nd Group, "control", also consisted of 25 patients, who received just supportive psychotherapy.

With a view to comparing the results of the Groups after the interventions, the following evaluation instruments were applied at the beginning and at the end of the research: Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck et al, 1998a); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberg et al, 1970); Sheehan Disability Scale (Sheeham, 1983a); Global Assessment of Functioning (AXIS V) (DSM-IV-TR, 2002c); questionnaire of fears and phobias (Mark & Mathews, 1979); questionnaire of cognitive agoraphobias( Chambless, 1984a); questionnaire of body sensations (Chambless, 1984b) and Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (Bandelow, 1999a).

The criteria for inclusion in the research was patients over 18 years old of both sexes with a diagnosis of PDA, with no serious comorbidities. The patients that presented alcohol or drug dependency, mental retardation or serious mental disorders were excluded from the research.

The patients who agreed to participate in the study, signed a "Term of Free and Clarified Consent" and were made aware of all the procedures undertaken, approved by the Committee of Ethics for the research IPUB/UFRJ.

In the evaluation of the tests the Chi-square tests ( χ2 ) or ANOVA, depending on the type of variable measure, always with 95% of Confidence, or P-Value ≤ 0,05. In the characterization of the Groups, the tests were undertaken with the values identified at the beginning of the treatment. Thus, the efficiency of the initiatives undertaken could be perceived. The objective was to identify the significant statistical differences, between the initial and final results of the tests.