Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 1;23(1):305.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04812-x.

The Bergen 4-day treatment for panic disorder: implementation in a rural clinical setting

Thorstein Olsen Eide  1   2   3 , Kay Morten Hjelle  4   5 , Ida Ueland Sætre  6 , Stian Solem  5   7 , Thorbjørn Olsen  6 , Rolf Olof Sköld  6 , Gerd Kvale  5   8 , Bjarne Hansen  4   5 , Kristen Hagen  9   5   10
Affiliations

The Bergen 4-day treatment for panic disorder: implementation in a rural clinical setting

Thorstein Olsen Eide et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Introduction: The Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) is a concentrated treatment with individually tailored exposure exercises. The format has shown promising results in the treatment of panic disorder.

Aim: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of the B4DT in a large sample in a rural clinical setting.

Method: Fifty-eight patients with panic disorder were consecutively included using an open trial design. The primary outcome measure was the Panic Disorder Severity Scale. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were used as secondary outcome measures. Assessments were conducted at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month follow-up. Treatment satisfaction was measured at posttreatment using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8.

Results: There was a significant reduction in symptoms of panic disorder from pre- to posttreatment (d = 3.36) and from pretreatment to follow-up (d = 3.63). At posttreatment and follow-up, 72.4% and 81.0% of patients, respectively, were classified as in remission. Patients reported high treatment satisfaction, and there were significant reductions in symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression.

Conclusion: The results from the current study replicated the findings from previous studies using a larger sample size. The findings indicate that the B4DT is a promising treatment format for panic disorder. The study also demonstrated that the treatment format can be successfully implemented in new rural clinics.

Keywords: B4DT; CBT; Exposure; Intensive treatment; Panic disorder.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare.

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed. Washington, DC2013.
    1. Kessler RC, Chiu WT, Jin R, Ruscio AM, Shear K, Walters EE. The epidemiology of panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63(4):415–24. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.63.4.415. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pompoli A, Furukawa TA, Imai H, Tajika A, Efthimiou O, Salanti G. Psychological therapies for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults: a network meta-analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;4(4):Cd011004. - PMC - PubMed
    1. van Dis EAM, van Veen SC, Hagenaars MA, Batelaan NM, van den Bockting CLH, et al. Long-term outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety-related Disorders: a systematic review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(3):265–73. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3986. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shafran R, Clark DM, Fairburn CG, Arntz A, Barlow DH, Ehlers A, et al. Mind the gap: improving the dissemination of CBT. Behav Res Ther. 2009;47(11):902–9. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2009.07.003. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources