Cognitive therapy for panic disorder: The impact of medication discontinuation on symptoms

Little is known about the impact of withdrawal and discontinuation of medication during cognitive treatment for panic disorder. This naturalistic study was designed to gather initial evidence on this question. The sample for this study consisted of patients who had participated in a comparative outcome study on cognitive therapy for panic disorder. Of 21 patients who were taking medication while receiving cognitive therapy, 9 were able to withdraw from their medication by termination, and remained medication-free at 1-year follow-up. The results revealed a significant decrease in the frequency of panic attacks and improvement on other symptom measures at termination and at 1-year follow-up, regardless of medication status. Withdrawal and discontinuation of medication did not result in relapse and did not reduce the effectiveness of cognitive therapy. Implications for clinical decision making are described.