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An investigation into the effectiveness of bibliotherapy and minimal contact interventions in the treatment of panic attacks
Author(s) -
Febbraro Greg A. R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.20097
Subject(s) - bibliotherapy , panic , psychology , psychotherapist , psychological intervention , crisis intervention , clinical psychology , psychiatry , anxiety
The present study investigated the effectiveness of bibliotherapy and minimal therapist‐contact interventions in the treatment of panic attacks. Individuals were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) bibliotherapy alone (BT); (2) bibliotherapy plus phone contact (BT+PC); or (3) phone contact alone (PC). Assessment (pre‐ and post‐treatment) and treatment (8 weeks in duration) were conducted via mail and phone. Individuals receiving BT and BT+PC exhibited significant reductions from pre‐ to post‐treatment on panic cognitions and fear of having a panic attack. Individuals receiving BT+PC exhibited significant reductions from pre‐ to post‐treatment on panic symptoms and avoidance. In addition, individuals in the BT and BT+PC groups were more likely to exhibit clinically significant improvement on most dependent measures relative to PC alone. On some measures, individuals in the BT+PC group did clinically better than individuals in the BT group. Results of the present study also suggest that diagnosis may play some role in outcome. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol. 61: 763–779, 2005