Adding fear activation did not improve panic and agoraphobia therapy outcomes
Exposure therapy with extra fear activation performed worse on some measures immediately after treatment, with no reported advantage at follow-up.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Deliberately provoking extra bodily symptoms or threatening thoughts during exposure therapy did not improve treatment results in this trial. Some outcomes were poorer than with exposure alone immediately after treatment. The abstract described similar outcomes at follow-up, but it provides too little detail to establish that the approaches are equivalent.
The abstract omits outcome scales, effect sizes and confidence intervals. Without these details, the clinical importance of the differences and the precision of the follow-up comparison remain unclear.
The early results
Immediately after treatment, exposure with additional fear activation performed worse than exposure alone on 2 of 4 primary measures. The abstract does not name these measures or quantify the differences.
What the trial tested
Both groups received exposure-based therapy. Researchers tested the addition of guided unpleasant body sensations or expectations of danger during exposure. The findings therefore address that added technique within treatment for panic disorder and agoraphobia.
The original publication
Instructed increase in fear activation during exposure exercises does not enhance treatment effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder and agoraphobia.
Richter J, Hamm AO, Lang T et al.
Behav Res Ther · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41539132
- Record checked
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