Behavioral aspects of panic disorder

The behavioral approach to panic disorder distinguishes between agoraphobia and nonsituational panic and emphasizes the handicap to the patient caused by avoidance of agoraphobic situations. Agoraphobia is a more viable label than panic disorder. Behavioral treatment consists of delineating the patient's agoraphobic avoidance and panic profile and developing a self-exposure program to produce habituation. Systematic exposure to agoraphobic situations is usually of durable efficacy, and the treatment requires little time from clinicians. Antidepressant drugs, which do not interfere with exposure, are a useful addition when dysphoria is present, but they can have troublesome side effects.