Abstract
BACKGROUND: Long-term follow-up has rarely been reported after self-exposure therapy for phobias.
AIMS: Completion of such a follow-up.
METHOD: Two-year follow-up was achieved in 68 (85%) of 80 patients with phobias who had completed a previous 14-week randomised controlled trial comparing therapist-accompanied self-exposure, self-exposure or self-relaxation. Measures were self-reported ratings of symptoms, satisfaction and use of other treatment.
RESULTS: Improvement at week 14 was maintained 2 years later. Clinician-accompanied exposure and self-exposure did not differ on any measure. Compliance with self-exposure homework during weeks 0-8 predicted more improvement 2 years later. Patients who failed to improve with relaxation by week 14 improved after subsequent crossover to exposure. A need for more treatment for their phobias was still felt by 33 patients (49%).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with phobias maintained their improvement to 2-year follow-up after the end of self-exposure therapy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 543-548 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | British Journal of Psychiatry |
| Volume | 178 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2001 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Female
- Follow-Up Studies
- Humans
- Implosive Therapy/methods
- Male
- Panic Disorder/therapy
- Patient Satisfaction
- Phobic Disorders/therapy
- Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
- Relaxation Therapy
- Self Care
- Treatment Outcome