THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH PANIC DISORDER: A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL

Since mindfulness may be effective in basic mechanisms of panic disorder, this
study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as an adjunct to drug
treatment in patients with panic disorder.
Materials & Methods: This pre-experimental study included pre-test/post-test control group (waiting
list) and follow-up. Thirty panic patients were selected and randomly assigned into experimental and
control groups. Both groups had the same type and dose of medication. The experimental group received
MBCT and the control group were on a waiting list. The panic belief inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory,
and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect the data and then the data were analyzed using
covariance analysis.
Results: After treatment, scores of the experimental group patients revealed significant reduction in
severity of symptom, anticipatory anxiety, body catastrophizing, emotional catastrophizing and selfdiscontent
subscales of panic disorder (p<0.05). Also, the changes in two-month follow up were
persistent.
Conclusion: Therefore, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, by affecting cognitive mechanisms and
components that are involved in panic disorder, can be effective in improvement of patients with panic
disorder