Jane reported that she had daily panic attacks with physiological reactions that included chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, nose burn, sudden perspiration, and numbing in the hands. The panic attacks occurred at work, at home, and in public places. She reported that the panic attacks were becoming problematic at her workplace, and her employer had commented on her condition. Jane stated that she had experienced panic attacks for more than 10 years. She sought out help from seven previous therapists. She terminated these professional relationships prematurely, because “they weren’t helping me.” The predominant treatment approaches employed by the previous therapists involved a psychodynamic paradigm and treatment by PCP, whose treatment of choice was anxiolytic medications.
The salient criteria for a diagnosis of panic disorder, without agoraphobia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) are a history of recurrent unexpected panic attacks (Criterion A.1), with at least one of the panic attacks has been followed by 1 month of:
(a) persistent concern,
(b) worry about the consequences or implications of the panic attack, or
(c) a significant change in behavior because of the panic attack.
The presentation must not include agoraphobia (Criterion B), and the panic attacks are not due to substance use ora general medical condition (Criterion C), or another psychiatric disorder (Criterion D).
Jane’s condition met these criteria.
Source:
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Panic Attacks
by TERRY MICHAELMCCLANAHAN & DAVID O. ANTONUCCIO
Veterans Affairs, Sierra Nevada Healthcare System
CLINICAL CASE STUDIES, Vol. 1 No. 3, July 2002 211-223
© 2002 Sage Publications
No comments:
Post a Comment