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. 2023 Aug 8;23(1):570.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05062-7.

The Bergen 4-day treatment for panic disorder: adapting to COVID-19 restrictions with a hybrid approach of face-to-face and videoconference modalities

Kay Morten Hjelle  1   2 , Thorstein Olsen Eide  3   4   5 , Anders Lillevik Thorsen  3   4 , Gerd Kvale  3   6 , Kristen Hagen  3   5 , Ivar Snorrason  7   8 , Thröstur Björgvinsson  8   9 , Bjarne Hansen  3   4
Affiliations

The Bergen 4-day treatment for panic disorder: adapting to COVID-19 restrictions with a hybrid approach of face-to-face and videoconference modalities

Kay Morten Hjelle et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: The Bergen 4-day treatment (B4DT) is a concentrated exposure-based therapy that has been shown to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The current study sought to examine the effectiveness of B4DT for panic disorder (PD), when delivered with a combination of face-to-face sessions and videoconferencing.

Methods: Treatment was delivered to 50 patients from April 2020 to May 2021. Because of regulations during the pandemic, a significant portion of the treatment was conducted via videoconference. The primary outcome measure was the clinician-rated Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), and secondary measures included patient-rated symptoms of panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, depression, and treatment satisfaction. Changes in symptom levels over time were estimated using multilevel models.

Results: Patients showed a significant reduction in clinician-rated symptoms of panic disorder (Measured by PDSS) from before treatment to post treatment (d = 2.18) and 3-month follow-up (d = 2.01). At three months follow-up 62% of patients were classified as in remission, while 70% reported a clinically significant response. We also found a reduction in symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety, and the patients reported high satisfaction with the treatment.

Conclusion: The current study suggests that B4DT delivered in a combination of videoconference and face-to-face meetings may be a useful treatment approach. As the study is uncontrolled, future studies should also include more strictly designed investigations.

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

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart B4DT, Bergen 4-day Treatment; PD, Panic disorder; PDSS, Panic Disorder Severity Scale
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
PDSS trajectories across time points Note. Raincloud plot visualizing PDSS scores for all patients across the three time points. The figure shows the distribution of scores, and the box plot visualizes the standard deviation, median, interquartile range and 95% confidence interval
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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