sodium-ethylxanthate and Agoraphobia

Forty agoraphobics had individual exposure treatment over a period of 28 weeks and were followed up for two years. Outcome in the 27 married patients was as favourable as that in the 13 single patients. However, among the married patients greater improvement occurred in those with better initial marital and sexual adjustment, although even those with poor initial marital adjustment improved significantly during treatment and maintained that improvement during follow-up. Good initial work adjustment and social adjustment were also predictive of particularly good outcome. Reduction of phobias was accompanied by stable or improved marital, sexual, social and work adjustment.

Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Agoraphobia; Behavior Therapy; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Marriage; Phobic Disorders; Sex; Social Adjustment

A female patient with agoraphobia is presented to demonstrate the need for maximal flexibility in designing a treatment program for the agoraphobic patient. This patient required a multimodal approach utilizing pharmacotherapy, marital psychotherapy, and individual psychotherapy, alone and in combination. The paper looks specifically at nodal decision points in treatment at which reassessment was necessary and changes in psychotherapeutic intervention were made. The importance and implications of involving the patient's significant other in treatment are explored with respect to the outcomes such involvement may have on the treatment. A review of the literature on treatments for agoraphobia highlights the conclusion reached, that the agoraphobic patient presents with a biopsychosocial problem which frequently requires the clinician to combine several treatment modalities.

Topics: Adult; Agoraphobia; Combined Modality Therapy; Female; Humans; Imipramine; Marital Therapy; Panic; Phobic Disorders; Psychotherapy; Sex