Internet-based treatment of Panic Disorder and/or agoraphobia (the revised Panic program): A randomised controlled study exploring the role of a clinician.

A randomised controlled trial comparing clinician-assisted Internet based treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia vs. a waitlist control on severity of symptoms of panic.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12611001120965

Acronym

Panic - A Randomised Controlled Trial

Enrollment

Registered

2011-10-26

Start date

2011-11-15

Completion date

2013-10-15

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

Our previous research indicates that the Panic Program, an Internet-based treatment program for people with Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia is effective at helping people to learn to manage their symptoms of panic. The study described here aims to find out whether therapist support is required for people to successfully complete the Panic Program. We expect that people completing the Panic Program without therapist support (but who receive weekly telephone reminders) will still benefit, but not as much as those receiving the usual levels of therapist support.

Interventions

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Treatment with clinician-assisted Internet based treatment for panic, or; 2) Waitlist control. Treatment will be completed individually via the internet based CBT course (ie not as part of a group), and any clinician (Psychiatrist) assistance will be one-on-one. All participants will meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia. All group 1 participants will complete 5 lessons of Internet based treatment about the management of symptoms of panic. One lesson will be completed every 7 to 14 days (patients can move through to the next lesson every 7 days, however, the lesson will be available for up to 14 days). Each lesson will take about 15 minutes to complete. Group 1 participants will have access to summaries of each lesson, homework exercises, and will receive weekly reminder emails. Contact with the clinician (a Psychiatrist) will be as and when required, and contact content will vary based on the demands of individual patients. The duration of the program is 8 weeks, but participants will be contacted 3 months post program and asked to complete follow-up questionnaires. Study questionnaires will be administered at application, pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 3 months post-treatment. These will take about 20 minutes to complete. The treatment materials are based on cognitive behavioural techniques.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association-4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for Panic Disorder and/or Agoraphobia, Internet access, printer access, Australian citizen.

Exclusion criteria

Current substance abuse/dependence, Psychotic mental illness (Bipolar or Schizophrenia), Current or planned psychological treatment during study duration, Change in medications during last 1 month or intended change during study duration, Suicidal.

Outcome results