Treating Anxiety Disorders

Eighty percent of the 11 million U.S. adults suffering from phobias or anxiety disorders could be successfully treated in as little as eight weeks with behavior therapy, drugs, or both, doctors estimate.

But despite advances in the understanding and treatment of phobias, fewer than 25% of the sufferers of unreasonable fears and severe panic attacks receive treatment, doctors at the annual conference of the Phobia Society of America said last week.

The treatment of phobias and panic attacks has received serious attention from the psychiatric and medical community only in the last eight years, according to the Phobia Society, an organization of some 5,000 health professionals.

Doctors said one of the most promising treatments reported at the conference was the eight-week, 11-session program for panic disorder developed by Dr. David Barlow, director of the Center for Stress and Anxiety at the State University of New York at Albany, which involves confronting patients with their fears in a controlled situation.