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Abstract
Panic-Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PFPP) is a 24-session, twice-weekly treatment that has been manualized and has demonstrated efficacy in a randomized controlled trial in the treatment of panic disorder. The treatment has recently been extended to address additional DSM-IV anxiety disorders and Cluster C personality traits and disorders. The manualized approach identifies a set of dynamisms that contribute to panic onset and persistence involving intrapsychic conflicts about separation, autonomy, anger, and guilt. The treatment aims at increasing patients' recognition and understanding of these dynamics through exploration of the meaning and circumstances of their panic attacks, related intrapsychic dynamics, developmental factors, and the transference. The termination of treatment is particularly important in working through conflicts surrounding separation and autonomy. This article describes the formulation and psychotherapeutic approach in greater depth, and a case example is provided. We then provide a summary of the research on this treatment.
Acknowledgments
Work on this project is supported in part by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, NIMH grant R01 MH70918-01A2A, and a Fund in the New York Community Trust established by DeWitt Wallace (Dr. Milrod). Drs. Busch and Milrod receive book royalties from Taylor and Francis Group.