Online therapy helps with panic attacks

The waiting lists for psychotherapy for people who suffer from an anxiety disorder are sometimes long. At the same time, there are more and more Online services that offer people affected help. However, these digital services are really helpful? This is the question that scientists from the public Health Foundation are investigated.

This showed that Online therapy has, in comparison to the Wait without a therapy positive effects: Affected with panic attacks, had used an Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy, showed after the end of treatment fewer symptoms than those who waited at this time on a space in a treatment and no treatment had.

Compared with a personal cognitive-behavioral therapy is the Online therapy cut also good: In both groups of disorder were equal to many sufferers of a panic, the symptoms significantly. Due to the methodological quality of the underlying studies and the low number of participants, the statement is limited power of these results, however.

Pathological anxiety can interfere with everyday activities, for some people it is even an ordeal to leave your house. Without therapeutic support, the least Affected get. On the contrary: The fear of fear causes often, that these patterns solidify. For the treatment different options are available. The cognitive-behavioral therapy and treatment with antidepressants of the common treatment options. In addition, there are offers on the Internet, so-called Online psychotherapy programs.

But beware: Many providers say that the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the Online available programme. It is, however, not all Online therapies be investigated rich, each of the offers differ in terms of content, often significantly. The Federal chamber of psychotherapists (BPtK), and a panel of experts from the German society for psychiatry and psychotherapy, psychosomatics and neurology (DGPPN) have developed checklists to patients, Online therapy offers a critical can check.

NK