Cognitive-behavioral therapy for panic disorder: current status.

Controlled clinical trials evaluating cognitive-behavioral approaches for panic disorder are rapidly accumulating. In the aggregate, these studies suggest substantial efficacy for cognitive-behavioral approaches in both the short and long term. Summaries and meta-analyses of these results are briefly described, but new evidence is also presented indicating that, in this chronic condition, patients continue to experience some exacerbations and remissions over the long term. Current attempts to evaluate combination psychosocial and pharmacologic approaches are described as well as the beginnings of efforts to develop more powerful treatments for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia.