Integrating Acceptance and Mindfulness with Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Panic Disorder

Abstract

It is generally recognized that panic disorder causes functional impairment in those who suffer from it. The diagnosis of panic disorder is related to numerous costs both to the individual and to society at large, such as lost productivity and increased health care utilization. Fortunately, recent studies illustrate that effective treatment of panic disorder (PD) produces significant medical cost offsets and, most importantly, meaningful improvements in quality of life. In this chapter we first focus on traditional cognitive-behavioral conceptualizations of PD, and panic control treatment (PCT), the most widely studied treatment for PD. Next, we describe the limitations of this approach, and we review an alternative conceptualization of PD, the experiential avoidance model. We then describe experimental research supporting the experiential avoidance conceptualization. Following this, we compare and contrast traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) with acceptance-enhanced CBT, a recently developed treatment that integrates acceptance and mindfulness strategies with traditional techniques used in PCT. Finally, we review the implementation of acceptance-enhanced CBT delivered in a group format, and present data from a small randomized trial of acceptance-enhanced CBT as compared with PCT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)