Treatment of panic and phobias

Research in panic and phobias has moved forward in the areas of treatment strategies and mechanisms of pathology and treatment response.In particular, serotonin transport inhibitors appear to be efficacious in panic disorder and social phobia, making these agents good choices for treatment of virtually any anxiety disorder. In the area of psychological treatment, work continues to identify new strategies and techniques, in particular which elements of treatment are most important and which cognitive processes change with treatment. It now appears that cognitive change in panic disorder is associated with stability of remission, regardless of the type of treatment used. Increasing attention has been paid to studies related to dissemination of efficacious treatments and associated problems. Long-term outcome studies, desperately needed, are beginning to emerge.