• DOI:10.1037/gdn0000064
• Corpus ID: 152168481

Efficacy of Group Psychotherapy for Panic Disorder: Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Controlled Trials

@article{Schwartze2017EfficacyOG,
  title={Efficacy of Group Psychotherapy for Panic Disorder: Meta-Analysis of Randomized, Controlled Trials},
  author={Dominique Schwartze and Sarah Barkowski and Bernhard Strauss and Gary M. Burlingame and J{\"u}rgen Barth and Jenny Rosendahl},
  journal={Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice},
  year={2017},
  volume={21},
  pages={77–93}
}

• D. Schwartze, S. Barkowski, +3 authors J. Rosendahl
• Published 2017
• Psychology
• Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

Among psychological treatments for panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia, group therapy is an established and cost-effective treatment. The typical review assessing the effects of psychological treatments for PD merges findings from both individual and group formats. What is absent from the literature is a meta-analysis that separately summarizes the efficacy of group treatments. The present meta-analysis addresses this gap by estimating the efficacy of group psychotherapy for PD in adults using randomized, controlled trials (RCTs). More specifically, studies that directly compared the effects of group psychotherapy with control groups or alternative treatments were included. We identified 15 RCTs that yielded 19 comparisons with 864 patients. In most studies, group therapy was based on a cognitive–behavioral approach. Outcomes assessing panic, agoraphobia, depression, and general anxiety symptoms were extracted and between-groups effect sizes (Hedges’ g) calculated using a random-effects model. Results showed large effects for group therapy reducing symptoms of panic and agoraphobia when compared with no-treatment control groups (k = 9; g = 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.82, 1.34]; p < .001). However, no significant differences were found when group therapy was compared with alternative treatments (k = 6; g = 0.18; 95% CI [−0.14, 0.49]; p = .264). This review adds support for group psychotherapy (primarily cognitive–behavioral therapy, CBT) being one of several treatment options for PD. Results are discussed with respect to the positive effects of group therapy and the limits of group therapy when compared with alternative treatments such as individual therapy or pharmacotherapy.